Student show inspired by Seuss

Dr. Seuss will take center stage this week as theater students from throughout the Clark County School District will come together for the Nevada premiere performance of "Seussical the Musical."

The production will be presented by Nevada State Thespians, the Nevada Chapter of the Educational Theater Association, according to Jennifer Hemme, director of "Seussical the Musical" and theater teacher at Green Valley High School, and Carrie Vlaming, chapter director for Nevada State Thespians and teacher at Palo Verde High School.

A total of 14 Clark County schools are involved with the production, and participating students range from 14 to 18 years old.

A variety of events, including a book drive and carnival, will take place along with the play, supported by the Howard Hughes Corp., the Summerlin Children's Forum, the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hemme and Vlaming decided last spring that they wanted to do a production that would bring together theater departments from schools across the valley. The two teachers had previously been involved with the annual opening show for the Nevada State Thespians Conference, which brought between 14 and 18 students from different schools together in one production.

Hemme and Vlaming started researching possible plays last spring, and thought that "Seussical the Musical" -- which made its Broadway premiere in 2000 and was created by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty -- presented a number of themes that were important to them.

"This play is about finding your own place, and learning that anything's possible," Hemme said. "We had to have rehearsals with kids from all over the valley, and we had rehearsals all summer and we did a lot of traveling."

During the summer students attended several full-day rehearsals, but since school started rehearsals have shifted to evenings for about three hours and all day on Saturdays. About 60 students, including technicians, have worked directly on the production, and more than 100 were involved in some way, many helping to build sets and make costumes.

The students have also put together an all-ages carnival, dubbed "A Safe and Seuss Halloween Adventure" that will be set up for performances for elementary students across the valley. The carnival will feature Dr. Seuss-themed games, costume contests and student performances.

"We auditioned students for this show from schools across the valley and we ended up with a really talented group of kids," Hemme said. "Usually you get a few kids at each school that are really talented, they really stand out, and this whole cast is just very good."

Vlaming added that the kids in the cast were fun and easy to work with.

"They were all very nice kids, very considerate," she said. "No one has any attitude. They've all been great to work with."

According to the two teachers, five other local theater teachers were primarily involved with the production, but many others helped with talent and supplies.

"Working on 'Seussical' was a great opportunity for us to be more detail-oriented," Hemme said. "With a bigger production like this and more teachers involved, we can do things we can't always do because there's not enough time."

The music for the show will be a mix of live pit orchestra and pre-recorded music. Five students are involved with the pit orchestra.

The production includes themes from 12 Dr. Seuss books which are combined into a series of story lines.

"This is a very intelligent children's story that will also be lovely for adults that grew up with Dr. Seuss," Vlaming said. "They'll remember the books and then get to see them come to life on stage."

The organizers said one of the biggest challenges will be moving everything, including sets and costumes, from Green Valley High School to Palo Verde High School when the production moves across town. Since the move will take place during a teachers' in-service day, Hemme and Vlaming said all of the kids involved with the play will be present to help load trucks.

The performance of "Seussical the Musical" is also being adjudicated for the National Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb. If the group is selected to perform during the festival, everything will be packed up and moved again.

Though the production has been a huge undertaking, Hemme and Vlaming said they would like to do it again in the future, though maybe only once every two or three years.

"We'd like to do this again, but we're all working on our own shows at our schools at the time, so it's really a lot to do, especially if you want to do it right," Hemme said.

The Halloween carnival will run at Green Valley High Friday and Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m., and again at Palo Verde on Nov. 6 from 3 to 7 p.m. Tickets for the event will be 25 cents each, five tickets for $1 or 30 tickets for $5. Patrons will receive five free carnival tickets with the purchase of each ticket to "Seussical the Musical."

The play itself will be performed at Green Valley High Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday at 1 p.m. It will be performed at Palo Verde Nov. 4-6 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 6 at 1 p.m.

Tickets to "Seussical the Musical" are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Attendees will receive a $2 discount at the door with the donation of a new or gently used book. Advance tickets are available at Borders bookstores in Green Valley and Summerlin.


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