Oh, the Thinks you can Think! – Seussical

I was only really familiar with Lynn and Stephen’s work in Ragtime, and the idea of setting the stories of Dr. Seuss to music sounded a little off-the-wall. But I went in with pretty much no expectations, good or bad, and had one of the most pleasant surprises of my life!

The first day of the reading, Lynn and Stephen sang through the show themselves to give everyone a feel for the music and the story as a whole – that was amazing in itself!

Stephen Flaherty, me and Frank Galati at the Seussical cast party

Over the next few days, individuals or small groups of people came in to work on their particular songs, as well as group sessions to work on the larger numbers. Phil Fortenberry on the piano was absolutely *amazing* – I’ve never seen anything like it! He could pick up from anywhere and never missed a beat. He’s my new hero. 🙂 It wasn’t until the second week of the reading that “run-throughs” of the show were attempted. The first time a whole sequence click was magical, and hearing the whole show start to finish – how in two weeks it had evolved from just the composer and lyricist singing, to this group of ultra-talented performers and musicians – was a real privilege to witness. On the last day, there were two run-throughs for a select group of invitees, and the reaction was unanimous – Seussical was wonderful!

I fell in love with most of the music during those two weeks, and a year and a half later I can still remember most of it, even though I haven’t heard it during all that time. My absolute favourite parts had to be “Alone in the Universe”, “The Song of the Lorax”, and the finale. I swear I got teary-eyed every time they sang the finale. It was such a moving experience to see the show come alive in such an intimate setting – no sets, no costumes, no props. The music got to speak for itself, and I loved it!