Tuesday, June 7, 2005 | 8:16 a.m.
With tongue-twisting song lyrics and a storyline that has the protagonist talking to a speck of dust, "Seussical the Musical" has a familiar ring to it.
The Whos are there, as is the Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie Bird and Vlad Vladikoff. Only, they've slipped off their pages, far from original context, to mingle in an equally imaginative world created by those who conceived the musical: Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle.
They take us to the Jungle of Noor, the world of the Whos and the whacky Circus McGurkus, breaking into song along the way.
Though "Seussical" didn't win over Broadway audiences, it lives on in community theater with a beauty that lies in its catchy music and in seeing Seuss' characters from different books interacting onstage.
"It's the first time these characters meet each other," said Philip Shelburne, director for PS Productions, which is presenting "Seussical the Musical" at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park this weekend.
"These characters are all removed from their native settings and put in a story setting," Shelburne added. "Gertrude, storywise, she would have never met Horton." "Seussical" is the season opener for Super Summer Theatre, an outdoor theatrical environment at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park that is known for its wholesome song and dance under the stars.
The production launches Super Summer Theatre's 30th year, a celebratory milestone for volunteers who have ensured the theater's survival for three decades.
"I've been out there for 25 years," said Mary Gafford, spokeswoman (and, of course, volunteer) for Super Summer Theatre. "We're really, you might say, elated that we are able to have the crowd that we have out there and all the growth.
"It's a cool place to be when it's 118 in town. When it cools down out there it will be 70 degrees or 80 degrees. You can look up at the sky and see the stars. You're five miles past Red Rock Canyon and that makes a difference."
Musical theater
Performances began at the park 30 years ago on a small wooden stage with three wooden planks serving as a roof. Since then, a full-service stage has been built with a sound system, dressing rooms, stage lighting and a place for a live band to accompany the productions.
After 30 years staff has learned how to read its audiences, which yearn for mostly family-oriented shows.
"We do mostly musicals because that's what the audience enjoys," said Christy Miller, production chairwoman for Super Summer Theatre. "I would love to see some other types of theater out there. I'd love to increase our variety, but I also like to do what our public likes us to do and they like musicals.
"I constantly have people ask me to do 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' again. I've done it twice already and they want to see it done again. They want to see 'Fiddler on the Roof' again. 'Annie!' They love to see the same ones. We try to give them something that's tried and true every year, but we try to present something different and fun."
Also, Miller said, "We stand on our mission statement that we're a nonprofit family-oriented group so that the whole family could enjoy it. That's what's important to us."
The fact that the August production of "Guys and Dolls" has nearly sold out before casting has even been completed speaks to the tremendous faith Super Summer Theatre audiences have in the community theater companies that present the outdoor productions each year.
Usual suspects include Shelburne's PS Productions, Nevada Theatre Company and Jade Productions. Nevada Ballet Theatre has performed there, and one year Miller brought in a Shakespearean company from London, which Miller said had a nice turnout probably because of familiarity with the productions at the Utah Shakespearean Festival.
We've seen "Smokey Joe's Cafe" there, as well as a modern version of "Godspell." But mostly over the years they've presented the white-bread favorites: "Hello Dolly!" "Oklahoma!" "Peter Pan," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Joseph."
"Once Upon a Mattress" will be presented next month. In July 2006 directors Terrence Williams and David Tapper are scheduled to present the more offbeat "Return to the Forbidden Planet," a spoof on "The Tempest" set to music from the '50s and '60s.
Funding the cause
Affordability often determines what Super Summer Theater presents.
"That's unfortunately what you have to look at in community theater," Miller said. "Seven or eight years ago 'The King and I' was a show we thought about doing, but the costumes were too expensive and it had magnificent sets."
Even with the help of UNLV, the Community College of Southern Nevada and other outside sources, Miller said, "It can still be costly to build your costumes. We get great community support, but I don't think people realize how much it costs to put something on the stage, especially for 1,100 people.
"An average run-of-the-mill production costs us anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000. That includes security, park employees, royalties, gas stipends for the actors, everything."
Shelburne, who last year presented "Man of La Mancha" at the park, said that he kept "Seussical" pretty simple. Still, he said, the production is a challenging selection with its 30-member cast and twisting storyline.
"This is one of the hardest shows I've had to face," Shelburne said. "Structurally, it's so difficult. There's three stories going on at the same time. We have to make them clear."
He selected "Seussical" for the "exciting opportunity" to present Seuss-related work in an even more whimsical format.
"I'm trying to push the point to think outside the box, don't let your imagination be dictated," Shelburne said. "This show is not brain surgery. It doesn't have a huge point. It's fun. It's light and it's got a lot of subtle messages."
Shelburne, who is also director of "Tournament of Kings" at Excalibur, said he does the musicals at Spring Mountain Ranch each summer because of the unique payoff.
"It's just very rewarding," he said. "I'm from here. This is a community I've always lived in. I contribute as much as I can and I like being outdoors."
So do audiences. Ticket sales help pay for the following season's productions. Donations collected during the shows help pay for such amenities as lights in the park, toilets and pavement in the handicapped parking area.
"We have a huge audience that puts $10, $5, $4 in the hat," Miller said, referring to the green donation buckets that are passed through the audiences. "That's our biggest support."
But show business aside, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park is a venue that lures audiences by the carload every summer. The gates open two hours before productions begin so audiences can picnic.
"They like to get there, talk and watch the burros," Gafford said.
Seating capacity is 1,300 and occasionally visitors are turned away on the weekends when the park is full.
Gafford never anticipated this much popularity.
"When I joined the board 25 years ago there were 12 on the board. We have 38 right now," she said.
Miller attributes the growth and popularity of Super Summer Theatre to its long list of volunteers, explaining, "We're all volunteers and we do it for the love of the theater.
"It's going to be a really great summer."
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