This past week, the Oakville Theatre Company wrapped up a successful show week for the first musical production at OHS in 20 years.
The group performed “Seussical: The Musical,” a show based on the story of “Horton Hears A Who” mixed with a plethora of other characters from Dr. Seuss’ stories. The show featured a large number of participants with about 40 students and three teachers: Isabelle Zurcher, Alexis Caldwell and Melissa Bradford.
“I love that ‘Seussical’ is a family friendly show,” Macy Judd (12) said. “Anyone from any age can get something out of it. I think it’s really cool when a show can do that.”
Though the cast did end up enjoying the show, some were skeptical when they first heard of the choice.
“I thought it was gonna be this weird little kid show, but it’s got so much deeper meaning in it,” Robyn Bridges (10) said.
Despite some previous apprehension, the entire cast sprung into action to begin practicing for the November show.
“Since September, depending on your role, we’ve been at school practicing from 2:30 to 4:30,” Kyle Brand (9) said. “And starting in November, we went to Nottelmann Auditorium to practice.”
Even with all of the structured time set aside for practice, some cast members took it upon themselves to go above and beyond to memorize their lines.
“I was there almost every day after school,” Judd said, “and then outside of school I would listen to the tracks as I was driving to school.”
In addition to the solo work, individuals got together as a group and worked with different staff members to perfect their roles.
“Ms. Zurcher brought in Ms. Caldwell to help us with music,” Judd said. “Ms. Caldwell helped us learn our parts, helped us learn how things were supposed to sound and helped us with any overall vocal things. Learning how to sing and how to sing with other people was a big thing for us.”
This technical learning curve was not the only one that the “Seussical” cast faced, as the students had to collaborate with students they had never before met.
“They were a lot of new freshmen, so I didn’t know them at first,” Judd said. “But now we’re like a big happy family. We’re all super close, and we get along well. I just think we have a great cast.”
This close-knit group was born from how each cast member was treated both on and off stage.
“Everyone is just nice and open, and it’s a really supportive group of people to be around,” Bridges said.
While the cast enjoyed each other’s presence, they also enjoyed their own participation within the production itself.
“I like how I just get to be a part of it,” Bridges said. “I love being a show operator now because last year during ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ I was just making props and wasn’t really a part of the whole experience. Being a part of the show in a deeper way — it’s a lot more exhilarating.”
Though the crew backstage could feel the rush, the onstage actors also felt a range of emotions racing through them.
“I was a little nervous with it being the first time performing in front of a big audience, but then after you start going, everything just clicks,” Brand said. “You’ve been practicing for so long that everything is engraved into your brain.”
With each line and move coming to them easily, the cast was able to embrace their character and make each moment their own.
“I love that I get to be sassy and just really have fun with it,” Judd said. “It’s always fun to have someone with a really big personality that you can really bring to life onstage.”
All of the effort that each person put into this project did not go to waste, as the production had an audience larger than most of the students had ever performed in front of.
“We had a little over two thirds of Nottelmann full, and that was crazy,” Bridges said. “It was so fun.”
The enjoyment, though waning at times, was felt full force with the closing performance Nov. 18, making the production a success in the group’s eyes.
“Everyone has to put in a lot of time into memorizing their lines, directors have to order costumes and our crew works really hard on all the tech stuff, the lights and the sound, and they’ve had to create props, too,” Brand said. “It’s been a long and tedious process, but the final product is really good and worth it.”
