Playbill | Director’s Notes

Dr. Seuss, the famous pen name for Theodor Seuss Geisel, was born in 1904. He was a thinker of awfully big thinks, like JoJo, and was equally criticized for his overactive imagination. Fortunately for all of us, he ignored those voices so we all grew up reading scads of books by this amazing writer and illustrator.

Seussical was inspired by books spanning thirty-five years. If you enjoy the show and want to return to these books, here are some places to look!

If you want more of the Cat, check out The Cat in the Hat (1957) and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1958). Our beloved Elephant made his start in Horton Hatches the Egg (1940), as did Mayzie, but he meets the Whovillians in Horton Hears a Who (1954). The Whos are the focus of our favorite green grumpa-rumpus in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957). 

The bright and heroic JoJo is a composite character who borrows from storylines in lots of different Dr. Seuss books. Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty found inspiration in Oh, the Thinks You Can Think (1975), One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960), and McElligot’s Pool (1947). JoJo and Horton both dream of a land full of kindness and sing a song inspired by I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew (1965).
 
Miss Gertrude McFuzz appears in the second story in Yertle the Turtle & Other Stories (1958) deeply jealous of Lolla Lee Lou, a bird with more tailfeathers, who is combined with Mayzie LaBird from Horton’s egg storyline. Yertle, from this collection, is transformed into a Judge in the Jungle of Nool in Seussical. 

Our musical ends with a rollicking version of Green Eggs and Ham (1960) but many of Dr. Seuss’ stories lend themselves to transforming them into songs, raps, or other types of performances if a big think grabs you!