Theatre Trip: Dr Seuss' The Lorax

(I know it's been a while - I haven't been up to much exciting, and been working hard. Plus, a trip to Australia!)

DR SEUSS' THE LORAX

Old VicTheatre
Date: 2nd November (Thursday), 7:00pm
Seats: Stalls B11 (front row!)
(with Joel, Jess N, Lisa, Miranda and Eric)

Notes:  What an interesting show! This show was basically the story of the Lorax (with added bits and songs), and it was so very, very Dr Seuss.

I didn't know anything except the story going in, nothing about the production itself or any of teh actors. In terms of actor, I don't feel like there many standouts - but that was the best possible thing in this show. They were an amazingly solid cast who worked well together flawlessly. The two best, I felt, were the Lorax (David Ricardo-Pearce) who had a full, rich voice which really suited the puppet. The other was the other main character, the Once-ler. He was an actor who I vaguely recognised from various things  - he has been in various British shows (Simon Paisley Day). He was very cheerful and optimistic, and his character really followed the line of the story well.

The musical numbers were really well written and all the lyrics fit really well - they all rhymed in perfect Dr Seuss style and were also quite funny.

The stagecraft in this show was absolutely fabulous! the Lorax, obviously, was a highlight - a waist high puppet controlled by 3 puppeteers (head and right hand, left hand, and feet)! They were a flawless team and he was very realistic looking, especially with his mannerisms. So clever. The Truffula trees were made of string suspended from the ceiling to be easily manipulated, and there were quite a lot of manipulate-able set pieces which were used to great effect (like tree stumps, the large wagon, and the giant tree-chopping machine). The creations were brought to life in a beautiful way, with the Swanee-swans in puppet form (on a long stick) to show them flying through the sky, as well as a few cast members dressed in similar costumes for dancing and other parts of the show.

It really felt like a Dr Seuss book come to life - oh, and the banana costume guy was hilarious! I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time.

Thanks for the recommendation, Joel - it was fabulous!