Seussical

Act One

As Seussical begins, a “strange red-and-white striped hat sits on a very empty stage.” A boy wanders onstage and notices it. He wonders aloud who would wear such a hat and upon surmising that a cat might wear it, the Cat in the Hat suddenly appears onstage. The Cat tells the Boy that he has quite a mind for his age, having used only his Thinks to summon him. The Cat introduces the Boy to the world of Dr. Seuss, the characters who will appear in the musical, and what story is in store for the audience (“Oh, the Thinks You Can Think”).

The Cat beckons the Boy to keep thinking so that he may conjure up the Jungle of Nool, the Seussian fantasy land where the story takes place. We are then introduced to Horton the Elephant, who on the 15th of May hears the distant sound of someone yelling for help. Horton realizes that the sound is coming from a small speck of dust blowing in the air and in an effort to help the tiny voice places the dust speck on a clover (“Horton Hears a Who”).