SEUSSICAL Opens 7 April at OCPAC

The laughs aren't just for the grownups this Melbourne International Comedy Festival - back by popular demand for 10 shows only, Seussical: The Musical brings to life the fantastical worlds and whimsical characters of Dr Seuss.

Based on its runaway success and sold-out season of Seussical last year, Old Carey Performing Arts Club (OCPAC) brings the Broadway version of this magical show to a professional Melbourne theatre.

Playing at the Athenaeum Theatre from Monday 7 April, Seussical guarantees smiles, laughs and a feel-good experience for all ages. It features much-loved characters the Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, the Grinch, Mr McGurkus, Yertle the Turtle, the Mayor Whoville, Gertrude McFuzz, the Sour Kangaroo, and many others, in a delightful amalgam of Dr Seuss's most famous stories.

Among the cast are professional musical theatre performers Joshua Robson, who recently toured with King Kong: The Musical, Emma Russell (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and Nicholas Renfree-Marks (The Wind In The Willows).

Seussical is a musical comedy based on the works of Dr Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The story follows the adventures of Horton the Elephant, who one day hears voices coming from a speck of dust. He soon discovers that within this tiny speck exists the smallest planet in the universe! On this tiny planet live a tiny race of creatures known as Whos.

Although ridiculed by the other animals in the Jungle of Nool for believing in something he cannot see, Horton stubbornly persists in his belief that the Whos exist. Traveling everywhere from the Jungle of Nool to McEligott's Pool, some of the characters fall in love, some have desperate adventures and some save the world.

About Old Carey Performing Arts Club (OCPAC)OCPAC started five years ago, initiated by a group of school friends who wanted to continue creating and performing quality productions after they had finished school. The community has since grown to over a hundred people within the Carey alumni and wider theatrical community in Melbourne.

Its 2013 production of Seussical received four Music Theatre Guild of Victoria nominations with Zak Marrinan winning for his performance as General Genghis Khan Schmitz. At the 2014 Lyrebird Awards, OCPAC won 'Best Ensemble in a Musical'. Nicholas Renfree-Marks also won 'Best Supporting Actor in a Musical' for his performance as the Sour Kangaroo.

SEUSSICAL - SHOW DETAILSShow: Seussical Venue: Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, Melbourne Dates: Monday 7th through Monday 21st April. Tickets: $30 adult, $19 children under 16. $79.80 Group of 4 ($19.95 per ticket) Bookings: Ticketek, Comedy Fest Box office, at the door Info: http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/seussical.