The Kelly Critics is a joint program of the Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh CLO in which students of high schools entered in this year's Gene Kelly Awards review other school's musicals.

Each ticket was sold, each program was given
Each car parked outside from the place it was driven
While each person at Canevin sat down anxiously
Awaiting the performance they were about to see.

As the curtain was drawn, the lights dimmed down low
How was anyone possibly supposed to know
To what lengths Bishop's musical was ready to go?
Oh! The things that were in store for this evening's show!

And - POOF! - out of thin air (just like that!)
Leapt a swaggering, boisterous, Cheshire-grinned cat
Played by Dylan Putas, this mischevious chap
This jack-of-all-trades in his red and white cap
Would keep the plotline flowing, without so much as a gap.

But to help him along with his bag of tricks
Are Thing One and Thing Two, his trusty sidekicks.
The toe-tapping comrades, with hair spiked bright blue
Know just how to turn situations askew.

And in their slick-strutting ways, ever so cool
They skip right along to the Jungle of Nool.
The trio arrives, and not after too long
The entire stage lights up, breaks out in song!
There are bright colored animals, a bona-fide zoo
A gang of primates, even an ill-tempered kangaroo.

But one elephant, Horton, stands out from the crowd
Telling all of a sound that he hears, not so loud.
But no matter how much this kind Samaritan tries
His story is always mistaken for lies.
If these creatures only realized, what Horton says is true
For that noise is real, the voice of one tiny Who.

JoJo, the child, seems to be in a jam
For his "think"-minded brain is being labeled a sham
But as fate would have it, the Cat has a plan
And reminds this miniscule, disheartened young man
"Oh the things you can think!" Cat quickly advises.
Eyes growing wide, the boy's spirit soon rises.

His imagination now fueled, JoJo's brain starts to flitter
And soon the room fills with fish, all a-glitter.
The chorus of creatures, their tales swiftly swimming,
Dance through the boy's mind, new thoughts all a-brimming.

Mom and Dad worry, though, of this "thinking" disorder
So General Schmitz is enlisted to give the child order.
This brawny official, with his tap-dancing brigade
Insists, from free thinking the boy will be saved.

Horton and JoJo, though their troubles grow worse
Find refuge in each other, not completely "Alone In The Universe."
It is in the beginnings of this beautiful friendship
That the actors voices shine, proving undeniably well-equipped.
Paul Kolos and Olivia Davis, the harmonic pair
Send heartwarming chills through each auditorium chair.

Reasserting his ringleader stance once more
Cat returns, holding even more chaos in store.
The following scenes burst with action at the seams
Filled with things only Seuss himself could have dreamed.

Amazing Mayzie, with an ego as big as her tail
leaves the elephant with an egg when she decides to set sail.
And one bird sees in Horton what evades the rest -
It's Gertude McFuzz, the girl-next-door (or in this case, "next-nest").
Chelsea Raffa was endearing, her humor deserving of mention
We all cheered her on as she clumsily vied for her friend's attention.

Easter-hued suits, Zebra prints, sapphire feathers -
The dazzling costumes truly pulled this performance together
And the sets, filled with blue, pink, yellow Seuss homes
Were the perfect backdrop in which the characters could roam.

Having seen "Seussical," I cannot help but dote
And to borrow a page from one memorable quote:
I meant what I said, and I said what I meant -
Bishop Canevin pulled it off, one hundred percent!