Cat in Hat Rigby shines in ‘Seussical’

Tom Titus

Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel was the emperor of imagination for

generations of youngsters from the mid-1940s to 1990, the year his

last work was published, just a year before his death at 87. His

legacy lives on in “Seussical the Musical,” now on stage at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Unabashedly aimed at the sandbox set, but with enough pizazz to

charm the senior citizens, “Seussical” is a collection of a

half-century’s worth of prolific observations from the creator of

“The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and other Seussisms. It is

set to music by the composer-lyricist team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen

Flaherty, with an assist from Monty Python’s Eric Idle.

It all comes together somehow, loosely stitched but engagingly

presented in what amounts to a triumphant homecoming for its star,

Orange County’s Cathy Rigby, who -- as the ubiquitous Cat in the Hat

-- orchestrates the entertainment, interacts with the audience and

demonstrates that, even at the half-century mark, this former Olympic

gymnast still has the stuff to fly like the character she’s best

known for -- Peter Pan.

Rigby is simply splendiferous in the part she took over on

Broadway and continues to headline on the show’s national tour (can

you imagine the role’s originator, Rosie O’Donnell, doing cartwheels

in mid-air? Me neither). Director Christopher Ashley has utilized the

full range of Rigby’s comedic charm and boundless energy, and the

actress delights both young and old with her zany antics and her

magnetic hold on her audience.

She’s assisted, in most of her activity, by Drake English, one of

two youngsters who plays the central character of JoJo in the cotton

candy-light plot, a boy whose thinking powers get him in all sorts of

scrapes. Young English is a real pint-sized trouper who turns in a

thoroughly attractive performance.

Seuss’ famous elephant character, Horton, looks no more like a

pachyderm than you or I, but with a flat cap with ear flaps, Eric

Leviton produces a gullible, somewhat paunchy schlub who earns a full

measure of empathy from his audience. Both the female who takes

advantage of him and the one who adores him are of the avian variety

-- the flashy, egocentric Mayzie LaBird (Gaelen Gilliland) and the

wallflower with a single tail feather Gertrude McFuzz (Garrett Long)

-- and both are terrific.

With Natasha Yvette Williams rattling the walls with her

vocalizing as the Sour Kangaroo; Don Stitt and Amy Griffin fretting

as Whoville’s ultra-conventional mayor and his wife, and Richard

Rowan strutting on from time to time as the militaristic General

Ghenghis Kahn Schmitz, the show maintains a snappy comic appeal.

Seuss’ other notable characters, the Grinch and Yertle the Turtle,

are mere walk-ons in this scenario.

The Seussical orchestra, under the baton of John Mezzio, keeps the

tempo humming at a sprightly pitch. The show is ultra-colorful thanks

to David Woolard’s imaginative costumes and James Kronzer’s scenic

designs.

At two hours and 20 minutes, the show may be a bit extended for

the pre-schoolers in the audience, but it’s a rollicking taste of

inspired nonsense nevertheless. And Cathy Rigby alone is worth the

price of admission for her superior showmanship as the mischievous

feline.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His

reviews appear Thursdays and Saturdays, and occasionally Sundays.