Marriott pares down 'Seussical' for kids

When "Seussical" director Rachel Rockwell talks about creating shows that appeal to younger viewers, she knows what she's talking about. She has a 2½-year-old at home named Jake, who sometimes comes to preview performances.

"If he is entertained," Rockwell says, "I know we are on the right track."

Rockwell is in special need of Jake as she crafts a failed Broadway musical into what she hopes will be a success as Marriott Theatre's latest offering for young audiences.

"Seussical," Lynn Ahrens' and Stephen Flaherty's musical take on Dr. Seuss' popular children's books, famously flopped on Broadway.

But in the years since it closed in May 2001, the show has had a new life as a popular piece of children's theater. Rockwell herself played the Cat in the Hat last year at a production of "Seussical" at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. And her husband was the sound engineer for the original workshop and subsequent performances.

"I love this show," she says, "It is so entertaining and contains so many important lessons. But the show is too long."

So she is creating an adapted version for the folks at Marriott, one that only runs about an hour.

"We are taking a very contemporary approach," she says. "We are keeping very true to Dr. Seuss' story and illustrations, but the characters are wearing clothes that are extremely contemporary. And we are taking a very rock-concert approach to the music."

She is also cutting some of the verses of the songs in the show. But she is not doing this behind the creators' backs.

"The composer and lyricist (Ahrens and Flaherty) own this piece," Rockwell says. "We just wanted to streamline this text to make it clear. The problem from the beginning is that it has too many plots and subplots for children."

In Rockwell's version, all of the focus is on Horton, the kindly elephant who "hears a Who" and also offers to sit on a neglectful mama bird's nest. Still, the show contains elements of nine Dr. Seuss stories.

"It is kind of like 'Into the Woods' for Dr. Seuss," Rockwell says.

Marriott Theatre's artistic director puts it another way: "The show is the greatest hits of Dr. Seuss -- and of 'Seussical.' It is one right after the other -- a brilliant concert version of 'Seussical.' "

"My son Jake can't wait," Rockwell says. "He keeps asking me, 'Is it 'Seussical' time?' "

You can bet when Jake finally gets to see it, his mother will be taking note of his every laugh and smile -- purely for professional reasons.