"The message of the play, which is all about treating people nicely, is very good for the age group involved," said director Eva Stockhamer.
CHICOPEE - For the students of St. Joan of Arc School here, they are about to enter into the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss.
On May 31 and June 1, the students will perform "Seussical Jr." at Commonwealth Academy in Springfield. Performances are at 7:30 p.m.; tickets, available at the door, are $10.
"'Seussical Jr.' is a condensed version of the original Broadway production 'Seussical,'" explained director Eva Stockhamer. "There are a lot of junior versions of Broadway productions out there."
Stockhamer said the junior versions of those productions typically eliminate some characters and shorten musical numbers and dialogue.
"One reason for that is because with younger children it can be more difficult to memorize lines," she said. "The performances also are not as long as traditional musicals, only running around an hour, as compared to the usual two and a half hours of full shows."
Stockhamer said that while some junior versions of Broadway musicals can change the show, this one maintains the integrity of the original.
"I've done the full-length version of this show already," she explained. "It was my directorial debut at Holyoke Catholic High School."
While the original show included dressing the various animals that populate Dr. Seuss's world, including the "Cat in the Hat," Horton the elephant and birds, the junior version would not allow the cast to look like animals.
Stockhamer worked around this dilemma creatively.
"The Whos in the show are all dressed in yellow. All the birds are dressed like dancers, jungle animals are wearing tan, brown and black, Horton is in a gray sweatsuit, and the Cat in the Hat is wearing a tuxedo top with his trademark hat," she explained. "By grouping colors together, the audience comes to believe the animal it represents."
Stockhamer said she is using a musical accompaniment CD for the songs, rather than live music. The cast for the show comprises students from grades 5, 6, 7 and 8. There is also a third-grade class representing residents of Who-ville.
Stockhamer said that the musical is perfect for the age group, since most of the students are familiar with Dr. Seuss.
"The message of the play, which is all about treating people nicely, is very good for the age group involved," she explained.
Stockhamer said that because of Holyoke Catholic's new collaboration with Commonwealth Academy's Rutenber Theater, the school is able to stage the production there.
"When the children found out they would be performing in an actual theater, they got pretty excited," she said. "They have risen to the occasion and want to do their best."
The cast consists of Evan Garber as the Cat-in-the-Hat, Alexa Keough as Gertrude McFuzz, Audra Raymond as Horton the elephant, Ashley Chimelis as Jojo, and Rebecca Duffy as Mayzie LaBird.
Stockhamer also credited some of the theater arts students from Holyoke Catholic School for helping with the production. Chad Nowlan designed the set, and Pat Moskal designed all the lighting. The set was created and painted by Ryan Duffy, along with Nicole Recchia, from East Longmeadow High School. The stage crew includes Brianna Stockhamer, Nowlan, Tyler and Nick Cox, all students at Holyoke Catholic.