Kelly Critic review: "Seussical" at Chartiers Valley
Share with others:
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, supervised by Post-Gazette senior theater critic Christopher Rawson.
To Think That I Saw It!
I say what I mean
I mean what I say:
Chartiers Valley's "Seussical"
Was nearly Broadway.
From March 10th through 13th
It ran with success,
Each setting and costume
Designed to impress:
Strangely colored jungle trees,
Topped with poofs instead of leaves,
A yellow clad Whoville caught up in the breeze,
The world view of Seuss was painted with ease.
John Forton and Gina Thornberg working in tandem,
Made sense of a world seeming most random.
Breakaway sets constructed by Forton,
Transitioned most neatly for JoJo and Horton,
From the jungle of Nool to Solla Sollew,
Thornberg's hand painted sets gave quite a view,
Each brightly colored in vibrant pastel,
But the costumes were where she really excelled:
Sequined vests and top hats for the Wickersham brothers,
All canary attire for Whoville's mayor and others,
Birds in Spring dresses with boas as tails,
A tuxedo clad Cat in his Hat never fails,
Mayzie la Bird in a showgirl costume,
Gertrude McFuzz sporting one wimpy plume.
The apparel was nothing without those inside,
Each lead and character was worthy of pride:
Rocki Boulis can thank her lucky star,
Though only a freshman, she's going quite far;
In a minor role she eclipsed the lead,
Shaming the "Biggest Blame Fool"
Transitioning later to help him in need.
Kara Laus was well suited as Mayzie la Bird,
Playing both flighty and sad whatever occurred,
Each number showed range and also swell acting,
Each inflection and motion was careful, exacting.
Bridget Deely as JoJo was quite a thrill,
Each song was inflected with a youthful trill.
Whether "Having a Hunch" or "Alone in the Universe"
Deely's exuberance shined when worse came to worse.
First Published April 7, 2010 2:21 am
