a big show by a tiny company

“If you open your mind,
Oh, the Thinks you will find
Lining up to get loose!
Oh, the Thinks you can think!
Oh, the Thinks you can think
When you think about Seuss!!”

Soulstice Theatre opened its 10th tenth season and inaugurated its new space with a candy-colored splash: Seussical the Musical, Thursday evening.

Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, creators of Ragtime, My Favorite Year and Once on This Island, wrote the show, based on familiar characters from the beloved children’s books by Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel).

The Soulstice version features the ingenuous puppetry of Angry Young Men. Ltd., and eye-popping costumes. The feel of it is Dr. Seuss goes to Sesame Street, with echoes of The Lion King and The Wizard of Oz. The big cast, including 25 students from the Soulstice summer theater camp (STArs), filled every inch of the Keith Tamsett Theatre. (The space honors the memory of Keith Thomas Tamsett, a founding member of Soulstice, who passed away in 2008.)

Char Manny’s imaginative direction involves a small, raked corner stage, variously elevated platforms, steps and a ladder to showcase the well-trained performers. Lacy shadow puppets, cast on a movable blue screen, serve as an animated backdrop for key scenes.

Mike Van Dreser, of Next Act Theatre,  provided technical support and helped in in the magical transformation of the space. Matthew Michaelis’ lighting was especially effective.

The well-chosen cast made the most of the show’s zany mix of musical styles and stock Broadway characters. An able, onstage four-piece orchestra of keyboards, reeds and drums, led by music director Art Jaehnke, supported them..

Stephen Pfisterer played the central character, Horton the Elephant, as more Dilbert than Dumbo. A trunk-like necktie was all the costume this accomplished actor needed to convey Horton’s simple goodness. Pfisterer’s beautiful harmonies in Alone in the Universe and Solla Sollew, with the sprightly Heidi Hansfield as JoJo, were transporting. He helps the audience believe in the tiny town of Whoville, whose occupants inhabit a speck of dust on a clover.

Josh Perkins and Erin Walton, Whoville’s Mayor and Mrs. Mayor, led the spirited children’s chorus and wonderfully conveyed the whimsical alternative universe that Dr. Seuss created.

Connor McClelland’s voicing and puppetry skills, as General Genghis Kahn Schmitz, nearly steal the show. The foam-like puppet takes on a life of its own, channeling George C. Scott as Gen. George Patton, with a little Col. Klink thrown in.

Vanessa Schroeder,  a standout as Mayzie La Bird, soulfully carried some of the bigger production numbers, including Amazing Mayzie and How Lucky You Are, in true Mermanesque fashion. A chorus of glamorous Bird Girls backed her.

Liz Mistele, a crowd-pleasing comic as the nerdy Gertrude McFuzz, and showed her singing chops in Notice Me, Horton and All for You. Jillian Smith, as the iconic Seuss character The Cat in the Hat, nimbly pushed along the various narrative strands. She morphed from smug emcee to ringmaster in the second act’s over the top courtroom circus scene.

Seussical the Musical runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. through August 6 at the Soulstice Theatre’s Keith Tamsett Theatre, 3770 S. Pennsylvania Ave., St. Francis. Tickets are available online or by calling 414 481-2800. All Friday and Saturday shows are SOLD OUT. Seating is limited, otherwise. Advance tickets are required.