Stage Review - Seussical the Musical (Lakewood Playhouse)
Stage Review - Seussical the Musical
Presented By: Lakewood Playhouse - Lakewood, WA
Show Run: December 05 - December 28, 2025
Date Reviewed: Saturday, December 13, 2025
Run Time: 2 House, 10 Minutes (including a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Breanne Jensen
On Saturday December 13th, 2025, I had the pleasure of seeing my first show at Lakewood Playhouse since Joseph Walsh stepped into the role of Producing Artistic Director. Lakewood Playhouse’s mission is to create community through theater/art, and cultivation is exactly what I witnessed during my experience at “Seussical the Musical”. The stage itself is set up as “theater in the round” which lends itself to a close and almost immersive experience. The audience is given a prop of “clover” (which looks somewhat like a dandelion) as they enter the stage area and are asked to hold on to the clover until prompted during the show. The small details of this big show are the elements that truly have the cast, crew and entirety of the show, beaming. “Seussical” is a musical (more like an operetta- meaning little dialogue, mostly singing, but that wouldn’t rhyme) that follows the story of two unlikely friends, Horton the Elephant and JoJo the Who, and what happens when their two worlds unexpectedly collide. Based off the beloved characters from Dr. Seuss’s books, Horton finds a clover with a speck of dust on it that contains an entire society of whovians! Despite the judgement and ridicule the elephant receives from the other members of the jungle, he and his demure neighbor Gertrude McFuzz, fight for friendship, value of every person and ultimately for what they believe in. Jojo, Horton and Gertrude band together to show all the other animals that just because a person is different doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the same efforts afforded to them. Along the way, a bevy of characters either help, harm or derail Horton and his friends, until they come to a happy end.
As I mentioned, LPH’s space is unique in that there are audience seats located on all four sides of the stage giving a different perspective to any show they choose to perform. The sets are minimal yet effective. Classic Seuss colored walls with stripes that tend to lead your imagination on where they may stretch to. Yellow boxlike structures on the ground that shifted throughout the show to become a multitude of props, stages and locations. My favorites amongst them all are a tie between a small yellow scaffolding platform used to symbolize the nest of a bird egg just waiting to hatch and the two upstage exits for the actors/ crew that have green kelp looking material hanging from a structure shaped like a portal that you weren’t sure who or what would come out of them next. The costumes are modern for a classical version of “Seussical”, as I have only ever seen the actors costumed as the animals they are portraying, this is a fresh new take where the costumes are your average everyday street clothes, if you like your clothes fabulous and full of amazing colors that is! The modern/minimalist costumes and sets never detoured the audience from the subject matter, location, or who these characters are. The light and scenic designs were clean, and professional and the orchestra-live, and you can tell not only do they love playing the score, but the orchestra also enjoys working and interacting with the cast. The dancing varies from incredibly hard tricks, skills, flips -to tap and even technically trained ballet. The choreography is intentional, effective, lively, polished and clearly perfected. The cast is made up of a variety of artists, talented in a multitude of areas, that had the entire audience on December 13th, including myself and my friend in awe.
Horton the elephant is performed by returning actor Melvin Rouse, Jr., whose portrayal gives big heart to the even bigger role. Melvin connects to Horton’s tender-hearted nature and is a solid lead for his castmates. JoJo (the little boy speaking to Horton from the speck, played by Cora Silva), is only nine years old and has a large majority of the show on her shoulders. A veteran to LPH’s kid’s programs, Silva brings jovial, youthful, lovable energy to the role that matches her cast in professionality and talent. Jojo’s mischievous friend, Cat in the Hat, is played by Mykahla George, who captivates the tremendous spirit of this famous character from singing, acting, dancing, humor and even that wacky hat! George is no stranger to the stage, and this production is indeed lucky to have her! Gertrude McFuzz, Horton’s madly in love with him but he has no clue romantic comedy counterpart who only has one feather on her tail, and next-door neighbor, is elegantly played by Serah Haugse. Haugse in spirit, voice and demeanor approaches the role with gentility and generosity, not just timidness, which leads to Gertrude’s story feeling as if it is about more than just love and or vanity but something even more beneath the surface, self-respect. Side note, I happened to meet her after the show for the first time, and she is as lovely off stage as she is on! The show girl of the jungle is character, Mayzie La Bird, who is dominated on stage by powerhouse Haley Paine. This night, Paine had a cheering section in the middle of the audience who clapped and praised their friend any time they were on stage and I can absolutely see why. Paine’s portrayal makes one feel like they are watching Elle Woods from Legally Blonde and Beyonce in bird form. Mayzie La Bird is a la diva and Hailey takes this role by the reigns vocally, dramatically and vivaciously. Courtnee Ramos, plays the Sour Kangaroo as well as choreographed the production. Ramos, who has the strongest vocals in the cast, belts, riffs and delivers a part of the story that helps narrate in the way of the antagonist. Whether Ramos is dancing, singing, making you laugh or pretending to sing as the little joey in her pouch, she hits every aspect out of the park. The bird girls (Grace Haeun Lee, Megan Lorich and Nyah Hart) are all triple threats who never stop moving on/ leave the stage! The three Wickersham are played by Erik Davis, Ethan Hechanova and Lucas Lucero, and are the perfect trio who bring power and skill to their roles. Ethan Hechanova is a trapeze artist whose skills you get a little sample of during a few of the musical dance numbers and Nyah Hart, plays the saxophone on stage but also shows off professionally trained dancing and acro-dance talents during the production. I found it hard to keep my eyes off either of them when on stage. This cast is so incredible, I could honestly give each one of them a public compliment.
Before I conclude this review, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge something I find important. This production stood out for many reasons for me, but the biggest is that their cast is incredibly diverse. Lakewood Playhouse, as I mentioned above, is committed to the mission of creating community through theater not just theater through community. Trust me, there is a difference. This organization is dedicated to having audiences see casts that reflect the community in which they are serving and living. The talent levels, ages, backgrounds, genders, pronouns, minority groups, are all diverse. As a Caucasian woman I feel that glossing over this Playhouse’s mission as well as the productions success in said mission, needed to be publicly mentioned, and honestly applauded, or else how will anyone ever know change is beginning to happen?
The purpose of our review is to promote and uplift the actors, theaters and community in which we all love so much. From the time I was greeted at the door, to making friends at intermission with the family next to me, to Joseph Walsh’s inspiring pre show announcements/ testimony, to the cast’s hard work and dedication to storytelling, the subject matter and even how the cast and audience interacted with one another post show in the lobby, it is apparent that change is truly being taken seriously and made actionable at Lakewood Playhouse. The Director of this production, Ashley Roy- Simpson, cast the show with a set of eyes that can see the world of Seuss in a different way. Roy-Simpson gave life to something special and then allowed her cast to feel safe enough to tell a beautiful story. What is evident is how much the cast admires, respects and appreciates their director and entrusts her with their joint vision. Simpson’s direction left me thinking about the “big picture” hidden in this little rhyming musical.
The message trickles from the top and between a diverse board, production staff, community engagement with new LPH talk series, kids’ programs and difficult conversations, it’s evident the message is going to continue to be well received. Seeing a different production of “Seussical the Musical” when I walked in the doors meant, the actors didn’t have on elephant suits and giant feathered dresses, but when I left, I realized that this version gives us a jungle that’s just like society. Where all the players are different, and we need to be noticing and celebrating every player for exactly who they are. As Horton the elephant and the cast sing, “a persons a person, no matter how small”, we all matter, even you, dear reader. No issue is black, white, or even elephant grey. All our dreams, hearts and differences matter either way.
Whether you come to see the beloved story of the cat in the hat, or you come to support your friends, or you just want to see what all the fuss is about over at Lakewood Playhouse, Seussical the Musical is a show dedicated to family, friendship, change, diversity and safety, just like the artists who are in front and behind the curtain of this production.
Seussical the Musical runs on stage at Lakewood Playhouse through December 28. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org/.
Photo credit: Ashley Roy Simpson
