Encore musical opens Friday at The Maguire Theater

On stage at The Maguire Theater is a floor painted blue,with large swirls on top. The image of surreal trees seem to make it all go “POP!” It’s a play for the whole family, something to enjoy. It’s something for every mom, dad, girl and boy.

This is “Seussical The Musical,” and Encore Theater has gone all out to recreate this hit Broadway musical based upon some very popular children’s stories. Combining some of the Dr. Seuss’s favorite characters to create this show, it is a production that promises to be as entertaining to the eye as it is to the ear.

“It’s a different type of play,” says the production’s director, Mary Cherry. “It has very little dialogue and what it does have has music to it.”

For its foundation, Seussical takes the popular Seuss story of “Horton Hears a Who,” and mixes it in with a little Cat in the Hat shenanigans, brightens it up (as if that were necessary when dealing with Seuss) with a whole lot of great music and then just like “schlopp, schlopp, beautiful schlopp with a cherry on top,” (you might have to brush up on your Seuss if you didn’t get that last bit), there’s an incredible set and wild costumes taken straight from Dr. Seuss’s colorful imagination.

First, let’s take a look at Horton. He was the famous Seussian elephant who had agreed to sit upon Maize’s egg while she was out tanning and just lounging about. Then there is the flower that comes Horton’s way. Inside this flower is a whole other universe, populated by Who’s living in Whoville, you might recall.

Horton is the only one who can hear the Who’s and eventually the folks in the Jungle of Gnu decide he’s nuts; that is, except for Gertrude McFuzz, who is Horton’s loyal friend.

Now take all of that, add a family of singing and dancing Who’s, the Cat in the Hat, and a whole lot of music and of course literate rhyming and you have yourself a great time for both the kids and adults.

“Seussical is a show that I really like, but not because it’s a kid’s show,” says Cherry. “Adults will get it at one level, and the kids at another.”

For the kids, the stories of Horton, the Cat and other Seuss characters are familiar. For the adults, says Cherry, the themes that run throughout the play should ring true.

“Seuss stories are very moralistic in their tone,” she says.

Horton, Cherry explains, is faithful; Gertrude is a best friend that shows you how to be a best friend; Maize teaches about irresponsibility and so on down the line.

While there’s a whole lot of great music, and the story should be enough for children and adults alike, tackling an interpretation of Dr. Seuss and putting it on stage is just a whole lot of work — but good work, you know, because it’s fun.

First there are the children’s parts to consider. Cherry says this isn’t the first time Encore has had a lot of kids in a production, but it has been a while. She says moving to The Maguire Theater from the old Main Street Stage gave them more dressing rooms and that’s important when you have kids changing costumes amidst the adults.

The other thing about kids is that they have pretty heavy schedules, what with school and all, but Cherry and her staff worked it out well. And subsequently all of the cast members worked hard to bring Seuss to life.

Bringing Seuss to life is not only a function of actors learning to sing and dance, it’s a function of all those folks who are working behind the scenes.

On stage, when you step into The Maguire Theater, you might recognize the set as something taken straight from a page of “Oh The Thinks You Can Think.” They’re adorned with brilliant colors, surreal trees and other Seussian illustrative accessories that plainly let you know that this is a Seuss world.

“I said I want the stage to look like you opened a Dr. Seuss book and walked right into it,” says Cherry, who clearly got what she asked for.

Costumes are another addition to the production that simply transports you into the pages of a Seuss book. They range from frilly to silly and they have provided folks involved with the production a great deal of creative exercise.