I haven’t seen much of my wife lately, because she has been busy all week with rehearsals for “Seussical” at the Racine Theater Guild. This was not a production of the RTG itself, but rather a production presented under the auspices of the Racine Children’s Theater, which once upon a time was a free- standing, independent organization but which now operates as part of the RTG. And what a remarkable history it has! Since 1933 the Children’s Theater has been offering up live theater to the young people of Racine- and at a price affordable to nearly any family. (For many years, admission was a flat rate of $5.) The productions come from various college theater departments and outside professional companies. This production of “Seussical” for instance was presented by E- Motions, under the direction of Kara Ernst.
If this had been a standard RTG production, there would have been extensive rehearsals over the course of a couple months. . . but believe it or not, this was put together in essentially a single week. . . which meant that the cast had to do plenty of work on their own before showing up for that first rehearsal. (And as luck would have it, that little blizzard we had on Monday and Tuesday caused one of the week’s rehearsals to be cancelled. So the fact that this show looked as it good as it did is a real testament to this gifted cast and to their amazing director, Kara Ernst.)
The production was fairly simple by technical standards, so there wasn’t much at all in the way of sets or props or fancy lighting effects. But that almost helped us to pay particularly close attention to these memorable characters and the gifted performers bringing them to life. And I also appreciated the fact that we were listening to non-amplified singers, which hardly ever happens anymore in live theater (unless it’s opera) but which is so refreshing when it does. . . as long as you have amply-voiced singers like there were in Seussical.
But this cast had a lot more than decibels going for it! They were a delight in every way… Nick Holub as the Cat in the Hat, Bob Benson as Horton, Conner Benson, Ellie Hammond, Brian Shalk, Dana Roders, Zak Keil, Joe Vignieri, Jamie Johnson, Kara Ernst, and my wife Kathy as that obnoxious female kangaroo who is so darn sure that Horton is wrong about there being people on that little dust speck. I can’t quite put my finger on who Kathy sounded like, but she seemed to be channeling a little bit of Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holliday, and maybe even a touch of Nell Carter. All I know is that I’d never seen or heard her do anything like this ever before, which was half the fun of it for me- and more importantly, for her!
But what makes these productions and performances so very special is the presence of those children in the audience who get so excited – a reminder that live theater yields something that even the fanciest movie cannot. And you really see that after the performance when the actors line up – still in costume – to greet any and all kids in the audience who want to meet them. (This is a long-time tradition with the children’s theater.) Those children are absolutely awestruck as they meet the performers and I’m not sure who enjoys this part more- the actors or the kids. Actually, Kathy confided that after a demanding performance it is not exactly easy to head into that lobby and have to be “up” and “on” for the meet and greet, which might last a half hour if enough audience members stay after. But they do it- and happily, if also wearily. . . even after their third performance in a single day. Because they know that anything they do to get children interested in theater is time and energy very well spent indeed, especially in this world of Xbox, YouTube, text messaging, and the like. And as I sat in that lobby, watching those weary actors smile and laugh and chat with each and every child lined up to meet them, I found myself feeling such admiration and gratitude for these rare human beings- for their impressive talents – and most of all, for their generosity and love.
pictured above: Kathy with two young admirers from the audience- who also know Kathy from Holy Communion.