Community Corner
VIDEO: Middle School Thespians Ready Dr.
Hop on pop and tell him to get you tickets to the Swampscott Middle School Theater Club's production of Seussical, Jr., running Thursday through Saturday.
Under the direction of Glenn Kane, the Theater Club will present Seussical, Jr. for four performances at the Middle School auditorium.
The play features many of the best-loved creations of Dr. Seuss as they sing and dance, bringing some of the most popular characters in children’s literature to life.
Anna Hunt, a seventh grader at the Middle School, plays Gertrude, one of the leads, and she can’t wait to get going.
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“I’m trying to impress Horton the elephant, Gertrude really likes Horton,” Hunt said at rehearsal on Tuesday. Hunt has been performing since she was in fifth grade, and last year had the role of Millie Dillmount in the SMSTC production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”
“I’m not nervous at all right now, but as soon as we get ready to perform, it’ll be a little nerve-wracking,” Hunt said. “I love to sing and act, and I have a lot of fun on the stage.”
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Kane took a moment from getting the kids in costume, adjusting the sound and the lights and said that over 50 students from the fifth through eighth grade make up the cast and crew, and they have been working incredibly hard for months to pull the show off.
“It’s been hectic as opening night fast approaches, but hey, that’s show business,” Kane said.
Kane teaches Communications and TV Production at the Middle School.
Middle School music teacher Jennifer Bowler is assisting Kane as the music director of the show.
Seussical, Jr., is based on the works of Massachusetts native Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss to millions of children all over the world.
Stephen Flaherty, Lynne Ahrens and Eric Idle of Monty Python fame conceived the play.
Stephen Flaherty wrote the music for the show, Lynne Ahrens wrote the lyrics.
“All the famous Seuss characters will be there,” Kane said. “We’ve got The Cat in the Hat, we’ve got Horton, we’ve got Who’s, we even have the Grinch himself.”
Tickets for the show are $10, and performances are Thursday April 7, Friday April 8, and Saturday April 9 at 7 p.m. There is a matinee Saturday afternoon, April 9, at 2 p.m.
For tickets and more information on the Swampscott Middle School Theater Club’s production of Seussical, Jr., please call 781-596-8820.
