GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM The Cat in the Hat (Colin Miyamoto) and Horton the Elephant (Scott Moura) come to life in Diamond Head Theatre's production of "Seussical."

Make way for Seuss

The doctor’s characters shine
in DHT's musical

It's turned out to be an extended working vacation here for two friends from New York City, now helping shape Diamond Head Theatre's latest production.

Greg Zane and Tim Albrecht were already in Honolulu when the indie film Albrecht choreographed, "Pretty Dead Girl," was screened at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival. They soon started work on "Seussical," a musical based on the whimsical characters of Dr. Seuss, that begins its three-week run tonight at the veteran "Broadway of the Pacific" 's theater.

'Seussical' Presented by Diamond Head Theatre Where: Diamond Head Theatre, 520 Makapuu Ave. When: 8 p.m. today, tomorrow and Thursday, and 4 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 19, with additional 3 p.m. performances Dec. 11 and 18 Tickets: $12 to $42 Call: 733-0274

Through the help of his professed mentor, artistic director John Rampage, the locally-born Zane has been able to guest direct one production per season for DHT five years running. Zane said he takes time off from his dance teaching duties at the Broadway Dance Center and American Ballet Theatre.

A DHT alumnus himself since 1983, Zane has enjoyed the process of helping reimagine what was initially not a well-received Broadway production three years ago.

The story and music, however, have held up, and the musical has been a popular production both on national tour and for regional theaters.

A boy, Jojo, with the imaginative help of famous Seussian characters, such as The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant and Gertrude McFuzz, attempt, through various adventures, to save the teeny-tiny town of Whoville (that includes the Grinch) from the no-good monkey Wickersham Brothers.

The DHT production, with musical direction by Emmett Yoshioka, features Colin Miyamoto as the Cat in the Hat, Scott Moura as Horton the Elephant, Stephanie Conching as Gertrude McFuzz, Grace Bell Humerickhouse as Mayzie LaBird, and TX Tario and Ka'iana Kau sharing the role of Jojo in alternating performances.

In its original Broadway incarnation, Zane admitted "I never saw it ... but from what I heard about the concept of it, everyone involved tried to 'Broadway-ize' it. It ended up being overproduced, and the story got overwhelmed in the process.

"So it's been a challenge for me. ... All the other shows I've done for Diamond Head, I'd already seen, so I could use what I saw as a base, and then fix and change what I wanted to do in a new way. Since 'Seussical' is totally new to me, I'm exploring it, along with the design team and cast, to make the story come out even more, but with the production values still there."

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Children will enjoy Scott Moura as Horton the Elephant and Stephanis Conching as Gertrude McFuzz.

ALBRECHT, on the other hand, did see "Seussical" on Broadway and agreed it went way over the top.

"The songs are great, the story is sweet and charming, but because of the huge costumes and sets, I didn't know what to focus on, and it should've been on the words and dialogue. It was so busy-looking, I didn't know what to pay attention to.

"Seussical" has subsequently been redone as a touring show, revamping it and scaling it down.

"When we all started work on it here, breaking it down song by song, we started to realize, 'Oh, that's what it's supposed to be.' ... It's sort of an adult show disguised as children's show. The morals behind it are liking who you are inside, friendship, seeing things through kid's eye, reminding us to look through that perspective. The show's not preachy at all."

And while "Seussical" has production numbers throughout, Albrecht says "it's not a dancers' show. It's what we call musically staged, where everyone has to dance to some degree, and where we work on stage movement and choreographed walking. ... My challenge is to work with people of varying degrees of dance ability, and create stuff that looks good for everybody. I try to cater things to each individual, drawing on each of their abilities and capitalize on what skills they already have.

"I've done a lot of work with actors and singers in New York City, and even though choreographers can be frustrated, I'm good at communicating well with non-dancers. We've fulfilled a lot over the last few weeks ... and the less-is-more approach works well."

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM BRYANT FUKUTOMI / BFUKUTOMI@STARBULLETIN.COM On the cover: Colin Miyamoto as the Cat in the Hat in "Seussical."

ZANE IS hoping that the audience will leave behind Mike Myers' broad portrayal of The Cat in the Hat in the movie version when they take in "Seussical."

"The Cat in the Hat, in this piece, he is the one moving everyone forward," he said. "He's the one helping the characters with problems, teaching them lessons. It's not overblown like Myers, who played it like a man in a cat suit. The costuming is very simple, and suggestive of animals, so the challenge is to bring out the essence of the characters."

As for his main cast members, Zane said that "Scottie, he's wonderful as Horton, Stephanie is a fun Gertrude McFuzz, and with Colin as the Cat, he's bringing everything together by not playing it for broad comedy, because the Cat has to be engaging."

Zane said the musical numbers are "very catchy and fun, a lot to do with Dr. Seuss' words. Like 'Green Eggs and Ham' is done to swing. 'Seussical' is not like a Sondheim show. The music is geared to everyone to tap their feet to, fun numbers, and even Horton and little Jojo have their introspective moments with their songs."

The ultimate message of "Seussical," Zane finds, is "the power of imagination. When we're little kids, we all have wild imaginations. But when we become adults, it's hammered out of you. Dr. Seuss is saying even though we have to conform to function in society, we need to keep the essence of each individual, that is imagination.

"When channeled, it should be encouraged to blossom. Jojo's parents see him as not normal because of his big imagination, and they try to take that away from him. But they learn that that's him, and he should be encouraged, because it ultimately saves his world by thinking outside of the box."

As for Zane himself, he admits he has the best of both worlds, moving between his family's island home and the Big Apple. "When I'm in New York, it feeds me artistically, and I have family and friends here. Both places feed two different parts of the soul."