 "Photo: Alicia Cardoza")
 "Photo: Alicia Cardoza")
Bright colors, fun characters and nifty rhyming lyrics are on the New Mexico State University as the American Southwest Theatre Company presents “Seussical: The Musical.”
“Seussical: The Musical” opened on Nov. 20 and will run through Dec. 6 at NMSU’s Hershel Zohn Theatre.
“It’s a very large spectacle,” Matt Jones, a senior theater major who plays Horton the elephant in the musical. “There’s lots to look at, lots of bright colors, a lot of audience interaction, it’s short, quick and entertaining.”
The musical blends a number of peculiar stories by children’s author Dr. Seuss and sets them to music as playful as Seuss’ famous works of fiction. Brightly colored, outrageous costumes are clearly inspired by the extravagant and imaginative illustrations characteristic of Seuss’ books.
“If students are interested in theater at all, there are not a lot of opportunities to see anything like this on campus or in Las Cruces or anywhere nearby,” Jones said.
NMSU and the American Southwest Theatre Company are presenting the musical for the second time, after the play was a huge hit in 2006.
“It went really well the last time we did it,” Jones said. “It made about twice as much as most shows normally do and it’s also a large production so there’s a lot of opportunities for students to participate.”
The play features NMSU students as well as local actors. In addition to Jones, the cast features a number of talented local performers and NMSU students, including Carrie Oliver as the Cat in the Hat, Mandy Guitar as JoJo, Ida Holguin as Gertrude, Francesca Tharpe as Mazy, and La Sasha Aldridge as the Sour Kangaroo, as well as others.
“I haven’t been to a performance at the school before and it was really good,” said Nick Whalen, a senior finance major who attended the musical. “I was very impressed with how many people were involved, the set design and people’s performances.”
“Seussical: The Musical” is the third production by the American Southwest Theatre Company and NMSU in the 2009-2010 season.
“It was cool to go and see what’s going on campus,” Whalen said. “I had no idea our theater department was that serious, they’ve obviously put a lot of time into it.”
In addition to the presentation of “Seussical: The Musical,” the American Southwest Theatre Company is holding a Toys for Tots drive. Toys collected will go to those in need in the Las Cruces area.
“Seussical: The Musical” will be performed at 7 p.m. today, and at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Amatinee performance will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call the NMSU Theatre/ASTC box office at 646-4515 or (800) 646-ASTC.
Katy Barnitz is a staff writer and can be contacted at truarts@nmsu.edu.
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