Lights, Camera, Action, SEUSSICAL Jr.!

Seussical Jr. is an amazing collaboration of dancers, singers, and actors, all with different levels of experience. This production tells the story of a caring elephant trying to protect a small world. The story is narrated by the well-known Dr. Seuss character, the Cat in the Hat. Redhawk students from grades 6-8 were invited to participate in the musical. For those who don’t enjoy singing and dancing on stage, the backstage crew was another option for participation! From tech to makeup and hair, the backstage crew does it all! And even if you’re not involved in this musical, don’t worry- there’s the spring play and plenty of future musicals to get excited about. What do you think the next play will be about?

Naomi Johnson and Jane Schuiling had the opportunity to interview Lilly Dow, a 6th grader who has three parts and a short solo in Seussical Jr.! When Lilly was asked what made her join the musical, she said that she really enjoyed theater. When asked about her parts, Lilly responded, “I have three! I’m a hunter, a who, and a water dancer!” Her favorite part is the Water Dancer, because she has a colorful baton to twirl. She practices her parts at home, in the Black Box, and in the hallways at practice after school. The performers usually warm up with the opening song. Lilly was asked if she had memorized her part. She said, “Most of it… once I listen to a song, it gets stuck in my head super fast. The dances I’m still a bit wonky on though. Acting… We haven’t really started practicing yet, unless you count screaming.” The dances are hard according to Lilly, but they learn them by Mrs. Bach walking through the dances with them, part by part.  Lilly’s favorite part of the performance is twirling the baton, which she explains she is not great at yet, but she has fun doing it. One interesting fact about Lilly is that she has scoliosis, which means her spine is curved, but in her words, “it doesn’t stop me from having fun!”

Olivia Johnson was lucky to ask Mrs. Bach, the director, about the performance. When asked if it was hard to decide who got what parts in Seussical Jr., Mrs. Bach responded by saying, “Yes, we are very fortunate to have many talented students here at Wredling, so selecting a cast is always a difficult task. I bring in several adults from our production team to help me decide.” She was asked how she got the idea for Wredling to perform Seussical Jr. She shared that she chose this musical because she performed in it nearly 20 years ago and has fun memories of reading Dr. Seuss books to her kids. Mrs. Bach loves running Seussical Jr., though she admits it’s a lot of work to prepare everything. “The production team and I have actually been working on things since last May,” she explained.

A big thank you to Lilly Dow and Mrs. Bach, the director, for sharing their thoughts about Seussical Jr.! We hope everyone enjoys the show- don’t wait, go see Seussical Jr.!