The lights go down and the spot picks up the “Cat in the Hat” (Ronan Mooney) coming down stairs on a pogo stick. What an entrance! It was an exciting beginning and set the tone for the rest of the play. Panguitch’s Seussical: The Musical was a fun two and a half hours of constant singing, dancing and outlandish entertainment.
With this production, Panguitch High School continued its twenty-year tradition of outstanding high school musicals. As Eric Fawson has said, “High School Musical season” really is a fun time of the year.
The play featured Ronan Mooney as the narrator, Cat in the Hat, with Annie Yardley playing the part of JoJo, a young boy from Whoville. Together they wove a tale of almost every character written about by Dr. Seuss.
Jaren Henrie played Horton the Elephant, who hears the small people of Whoville and wants to save them because “a person’s a person no matter how small.” His faithfulness definitely convinced us that everybody counts. Jaren could convince you that ice cream could never melt if he was singing it to you.
Shelby Frandsen was outstanding as “Amazing Mazie,” the lazy bird. Her performance was top of the line. Other amazing performances were given by seniors Mark Tebbs and Paisley Henrie playing JoJo’s parents, who just happened to be the Mayor of Whoville and his wife.
In a play, some parts seem to be made for one specific person, and this play was no exception. No one could have played the part of Gertrude McFuzz better than Jocelyn Certonio, and Makenzie Roundy was stellar in the part of the Sour Kangaroo. Orin Hughes as General Genghis Khan Schmitz really stood out and was a crowd pleaser.
The three bird girls, Catherine Weil, Sophie Fawson and Joslyn Frandsen, were so engaging and the rest of the cast kept things moving so that you weren’t quite sure where to look next. Each movement was orchestrated to the extreme to keep your attention where it should be. As a former director, I would call this perfect casting.
The stage crew never missed a beat. They included Andy Robinson, Fenix Fischer, Byron Roundy, Riley Ward, Payton Graff and Clayson Harker.
Panguitch’s production of Seussical: The Musical — which was directed by Buffy Flake with assistance from Cindy Coombs, Laura Adams — and the choreography by Chelsea Stewart will be long remembered by their audiences. Other helpers who contributed a significant role to the play were Pete Peterson, producer; Ken Thornock and the PHS shop students who built an amazing set; and Mary Klemme, who did makeup.
Congratulations to everyone in the cast for seven exciting performances and a play that the students of Panguitch High School will never forget.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: The Cat in the Hat (Ronan M.) and JoJo (Annie Y.) tell the story of Seussical: The Musical.
Read about the growing drama program of Panguitch’s next door neighbor, Piute, here.