Gio Roper Photos.
Colorful patterned wooden ladders decorated the blackbox theater inside 55 Audubon St. as siblings Cole and Simone Nelson took the stage to sing “Alone in the Universe,” a hopeful duet about finding a true friend in a world that doesn't understand you. With their earnest harmonies, they took the mid-act-one moment to steal audience members' hearts.
“And one day soon I know there you'll be, one small voice in the universe, one true friend in the universe, who believes in me.” they sang, and the audience collectively melted.
Last Thursday, both Nelsons were part of an extraordinary cast of Seussical, part of Neighborhood Music School’s annual and beloved Audubon Arts summer program. Performances took place July 28 through 30 at the ACES Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) blackbox theater at 55 Audubon St.
As in years past, the show marked the culmination of weeks of hard work from theater students in the program, many of whom have returned for several years in a row.
Gio Roper Photos.
The Audubon Arts Theatre Group is the high school section of the Audubon Arts summer program (to read about previous years of programming, click here, here, and here). It is made possible by drama teacher and filmmaker Stephen Dest, who directed the show and built the department, Music Director Greg Bell, choreographer Briana Louis, and several other production team members.
“Greg Bell always says ‘I don't care what you feel, I only care that you feel,’” said Simone. “And I think that mindset made our production of Seussical extra special because we all added our own individuality to it.”
A 2000 musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Seussical follows a young boy (Simone Nelson) on a Seussian rollercoaster of journey. Based on several works by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) himself, Seussical delivers a level of whimsy that this year's theatre group cast was more than ready to match.
Thursday, the musical opened with Nelson-as-Boy having a strange encounter with a well- dressed cat (played by a captivating Cat Woodcock). This of course, was the Cat in the Hat, and the narrator for the evening. With a quick step and quicker diction, Woodcock made a delightful Cat in the Hat, and showed the Boy and the audience how to think wonderful “thinks” while telling the “rotund and appealing” story of Horton the Elephant.
Molly Davis as Mayzie LaBird. Gio Roper Photos.
Here’s Horton's story, if somehow you missed this chapter of childhood. When Horton (Cole Nelson) discovers a small civilization of tiny people called Whos, who are living on a dust speck, he makes it his mission to keep them safe, much to the disapproving laughter and jeers of his fellow animals in the Jungle of Nool. That is, except for his next-door neighbor and longtime secret admirer, Gertrude McFuzz (Samantha Roth).
On stage, Roth brought this dorky bird to life with a silly and sweet charm. With every hopeful tweet, she conveyed her love for her elephant neighbor, reminding the audience of that part in them that persistently believes in love. She was her own worst critic, overly conscious of her one-feathered tail until the utterly fabulous Mayzie LaBird (the stunning Molly Davis, naturally) gave her the best advice she could.
Davis absolutely nailed Mayzie’s solo, “Amayzing Mayzie,” a zazzy number about her journey to beauty and full-featheredness. After Mayzie set Gertrude on her own fluffy path—a tail enhancing pill, because of course—Horton discovered Mayzie was nesting an egg, which didn’t much align with her fabulous lifestyle. When she outsourced this nursing to Horton, the elephant’s tale became even more bright, colorful, and undoubtedly Seussian.
Cole played into Horton’s kind-hearted nature with expertise, showing the audience how deeply Horton cared about people. With a strong stage presence and an even stronger vibrato, he brought to Horton a grounded and comforting demeanor, palpable in lines like “a person’s a person, no matter how small.” His devotion to saving the Whos led to a particularly meaningful friendship with Jojo, the son of the Mayor of Whoville.
Gio Roper Photos.
Simone charmed one and all as both Jojo and the Boy. Her bright and clear tone was perfect for the characters, all wonder and wide eyes. In the play, Jojo often got in trouble with his parents for “thinking too many thinks,” and the character development became a reminder of the power and necessity of the human imagination.
Simone said in an interview that while she first envisioned Jojo as a much younger boy, the costumes department had thought of him more as a misunderstood teenager. Simone decided to play both.
“I realized that I myself am kind of a mix of these Jojos, and tried to be a more exaggerated version of myself.” she said.
Other castmates matched the Nelsons' understanding of their characters as well. From the Mayor of Whoville (Jake Khan) and his wife (Ruth Levenson) to a sour kangaroo (Ace Knudsen, ever the powerful belter), and the commanding General Genghis Khan Schmitz (Sammi Barkon) to a trio of Bird Girls (Miley Gomez Velasquez, Penny Cacopardo, and Abby Kreidler), and our favorite Grinch (L Rosenthal), there was never a dull voice in the cast.
Add in three counselors as Thing 1 (Anna Wootton), Thing 2 (Abigail Grauer), and Thing 3 (Izzie Lucarelli) and the unsuspecting audience was immediately won over by the sheer energy and collective spirit of the cast.
It was clear that this dedication did not stop backstage. At Audubon Arts, cast and production team members all pitched in to create the set, props, and costumes that built the onstage world.
“We wanted to create a show that felt organic and unrehearsed … now the truth of actually achieving that takes a tremendous amount of rehearsals and a dedicated artistic team to support the cast. We had that from day one.” Dest said. “The group has a lot of creative input in all aspects of show including props, sets, costumes and character development. With that fast turnaround the group is literally working up to the last minute before showtime!”
“I’m going to miss everyone a lot and I hope they come back next year, because I’m planning to,” said Woodcock in an interview before closing night. “I know there are going to be a lot of tears tonight and it's going to be an emotional time.”
Olivia Tapia Ko is a graduate of the Arts Council's Youth Arts Journalism Initiative and a rising junior at New Haven Academy.