JANUARY 22, 2010 WEEK 12

SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL PERFORMED BY THE F&M PLAYERS!

Franklin & Marshall College and the F&M Players presented "Seussical the Musical" held at the Roschel Performing Arts Center. 
The F&M Players are a non-profit student run organization.  The director Dan Deibler is a junior at F&M who is majoring in Studio Art.  This makes this production extra special because it is the students responsibilty to make this play happen!  I would like to be the first to say that it was AMAZING!

As the curtains opened and the upbeat drum beats and flutes filled the air created a very happy bouncy and excited feeling.  The stage was set up with two scenes.  The first scene to the left of the stage and a three level jungle scene including vines hanging from the ceiling.  The second scen to the right is a close up version of a flower, two levels high.  It was to portray the miniture people of the Who's living on a flower.

The cast of characters were several different characters from three or four Dr. Seuss books.  The main characters being Horton, The Cat in the Hat, Jojo the boy, the major of Whoville and Gertrude McFuzz (a bird).

The story starts off with a version of the Cat in the Hat, then turns more towards Horton Hears a Who and then finally with a twist Gertrude McFuzz and The Butter Battle Book.
In the beginning of the show there were some technical difficulties with the sound but I would have to say the lead singers as well as the back up birds were crazy amazing.  Christopher Brown who played Horton the Elephant kept my attention the entire play.  His voice was amazing and he played the character perfectly.
The Cat in the Hat was also played wonderfully by Ian Steffy.  His facial expressions as well as his excentric actions made the Cat come alive with his devilish tricks!  I also had the pleasure of meeting Ian's mother who sat next to me in the audience.  She had said that he loved to play characters as a child and studied at Boston University (her alma mater) and took classes in sword fighting.  You can also see his sense of humor in the program as well.  I think he was a played the great role of Cat in the Hat very well and would be a great actor on Broadway or on the screen!
All in all the experience watching Seussical the Musical for the first time was spectacular.  I had a great time watching the show, speaking to Ian's mother and I enjoyed watching the packed house buzz with activity.  I had a great evening and would recommend watching any play performed by the F&M Players.  They take great pride in their productions!