Childhood favorites take the stage in 'Seussical'

Move over, Simba. There's a new cat in town.

"Seussical the Musical" — currently in previews at the Richard Rogers Theatre and opening Nov. 30 — aims to give Disney a run for its family theater money. The new musical, with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and book by the duo, is directed by Frank Galati.

This same team was responsible for the 1998 Tony Award-winning musical "Ragtime," and while E. L. Doctorow novels and Dr. Seuss picture books are rather dissimilar source material, the two shows share an epic scope — except in this case, the epic concerns an elephant named Horton, and his tiny friends, the Whos.

"Seussical" blends together some of Dr. Seuss's most famous stories to come up with a somewhat coherent plot. The play centers on the adventures of Horton the Elephant (Kevin Chamberlin), JoJo the Who (Anthony Blair Hall) and Gertrude McFuzz, the girl bird with a one-feather tail (Janine LaManna). The Cat in the Hat (David Shiner) serves as the narrator and emcee for the evening, and the remaining characters range from the Grinch to Yertle the Turtle.

If any of these names rings a bell — and chances are they do — you're in for a fun few hours. The overture opens with the crash of rock guitar: Seuss rock? But the opening number's lyrics are instantly reassuring, not to mention catchy: "Oh, The Things You Can Think When You Think About Seuss!"

This happy and somewhat self-conscious attitude carries the show through Horton's discovery of a tiny planet to his hatching of an elephant-bird, and allows for asides that reference such famed books as "The Cat in the Hat," "The Butter Battle Book" and "McElligot's Pool." Even the cultural icons of "The Lorax," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Green Eggs and Ham" come into play, though only briefly.

Wearing just a gray short-sleeved shirt and gray cargo shorts, Chamberlin's Horton somehow becomes a kind, sweet, slightly befuddled elephant. He makes sweet ballads such as "Alone in the Universe" and "Solla Sollew" entirely his own, and in the faster-paced numbers, holds his own with the flashier jungle creatures. His performance is, in short, extremely impressive.

The other principals are also strong. Though the young Hall, at this early stage of performance, had minor trouble with his lines, his singing voice is exceptional. And as the sweetly shy Gertrude — who has a little crush on her elephant neighbor — LaManna perfectly captures the personality of any girl who will go to great lengths (of tail) to impress that special someone.

Another standout in the large cast is Michele Pawk as Mayzie LaBird, the thoughtless party bird who asks Horton to egg-sit for a few hours, and then flies off on an extended vacation to Palm Beach. Pawk, who played the bitter prostitute Fraulein Kost in the original cast of the current "Cabaret" revival, is bright, bouncy and flashy — the complete opposite of her bruised and sullen "Cabaret" character.

Shiner, as the Cat in the Hat, is slightly more problematic. Best known for the brilliant comedy "Fool Moon" with Bill Irwin — it won a Tony for Unique Theatrical Experience — he is at heart a physical comedian. In the first act of "Seussical," his expertise in this area is almost criminally underused. When the second act opens with Shiner hanging from a sandbag, acting as the counterbalance to the falling curtain, however, things are obviously on an upswing. And the more Shiner is allowed to exercise his special talents, the more enjoyable "Seussical" becomes.

The chorus members are universally strong. Playing literally hundreds of roles, changing costumes so quickly it seems impossible, they are continually on the go. Though they must be hurried beyond belief, they sing, act and dance with great exuberance and skill.

Thanks to the talented design team, watching "Seussical" is like stepping into the pages of your favorite childhood tale. Eugene Lee's sets use brightly colored circles as a starting point, and then incorporate three-dimensional copies of everything from the chairs in "The Cat in the Hat" illustrations to the pill tree that allows Gertrude to grow a very glamorous tail. Natasha Katz's lights, equally rainbow-colored, create fantasy worlds from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, and draw the audience into the action by incorporating disco balls that refract light through the entire theater.

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William Ivey Long must be the hardest working costume designer in theater. At any given time, he seems to be responsible for half the costumes on and off Broadway. Despite this packed palette, his ingenuity does not fail him here. The colorful costumes fully realize Dr. Seuss's pictorial vision, though there is perhaps a little more cleavage on stage than there is in most media aimed at a young audience.

Kathleen Marshall's choreography is some of the most original and fun to hit the Broadway scene in recent years. Wonderfully executed by the cast, it is an integral part of an enjoyable evening.

It is a pleasure to come into a Broadway theater and hear a completely unfamiliar overture. In an age when new musicals often have limited audience appeal, Flaherty and Ahrens have written a show that is sure to stick around for quite a while, though it probably will not have the power to replace those dearly departed "Cats." The music is catchy, the rhyming lyrics — not all of which come directly from the pages of Seuss books — are pleasing and audiences will be humming songs such as "How Lucky You Are" and "Amayzing Mayzie" for many years to come.

Director Galati ably harnesses the talents at his disposal, and emerges with a toe-tapping, grin-making production. Though "Seussical" does have a few weak elements — most of which occur when the show makes a conscious effort to cater to the adults in the audience — it is fun, original and utterly appealing, whether you're a member of the 10-and-under crowd or not.