Centenary Stage Company Set To Open Final Summer Fest 2023 Event, SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL

Centenary Stage Company will open their final Musical theatre event of their 2023 Summerfest, this Thursday July 27 with Seussical the Musical. Performances for Seussical will run July 27 – August 6 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center of the Centenary University campus at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ. Tickets range from $25.50 - $29.50 for adults with discounts available for seniors, students, and children under 12 for select performances. The Summerfest musicals will also feature family night on Thursday evening performances, with Buy One, Get One ticket special beginning at 5:30 PM in person at the box office. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900

Now one of the most performed shows in America, Seussical, features a book and music by Tony winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Once on This Island, Ragtime). Co-Conceived by Ahrens, Flaherty, and Eric Idle and based on the Works of Dr. Seuss, Seussical is a journey through the stories of Dr. Seuss featuring the plots form Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat, and Horton Hatches the Egg. Audiences can expect to see well-known characters like Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie and Jojo – the smallest Who of all.

The Cat in the Hat serves as the narrator and tells the story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust that contains the Whos, including Jojo, a Who child sent off to military school for thinking too many "thinks." Horton faces a double challenge: not only must he protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant.

The cast of Seussical the Musical will includes Centenary University students, alumni, CSC veterans, and a few brand-new faces. The cast includes: Cody Jackson, Olivia Tomlin, James Gerard Russo, Megan Schmeidhauser, Nicole Boscarino, Morgan Damato, Zac Cruz, Gabriel Argate, Johnathan Drayton, Katie O'Shea, Amanda Ackerman, Makayla Labode, Ian Federgreen, Aycha Lima, George Xavier, Hope Keil, Kayla Chirip, Kai Vialva, Matthew Steen, Michaela Thiessen, and Kayla Yepez.

Co-directing and choreographing, this production of Seussical the Musical is Lea Antolini-Lid. Antolini Lid is the Assistant Professor of Theater & Dance as well as the director of CSC's Young Audience Series Tour, and the producer/director of the NEXTstage Rep. Summer Stock Musical Series. Most recently, Lea co-directed Addams Family in April 2023, directed RENT in the summer of 2022, as well as the YAS production of Frog & Toad at CSC this past fall and was seen onstage as the Stepmother in Cinderella. Lea has directed the CSC Summer Stock Musical series for several years and you have also seen her directorial work on Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Always…Patsy Cline, and more.

Jillian Petrie will also serve as co-director and choreographer for Seussical the Musical. Jillian Petrie is an award-winning choreographer/director. With over 100 productions under her belt, and she is just getting started. She is currently company choreographer for The Growing Stage, a professional regional theatre company located in New Jersey. Here she also served as director on the company's first film production and has previously served as director of multiple main-stage productions. As of June 2018, she has been Director of TGS's new Theatre Dance program. Productions are full-length plays that aim to challenge existing boundaries by incorporating movement-based storytelling and exploring audience engagement. In addition, Jillian is a professor of dance and theatre at Centenary University and founder of the media company, Athletes & Artists. Jillian was recently a member of the 2018-2019 Stage Directors Choreographers Foundation's Broadway Observership Class, Directors Lab Class of 2019, Broadway Dance Center's Choreography Program of 2021, and SDCF's Broadway Observership 2013-2014 Class. Her most recent CSC credit, Jillian directed The Marvelous Wonderettes in the summer of 2022.

Performance dates and times for Seussical are Thursdays, July 27 and August 3 at 7:30 pm; Fridays, July 28 and August 4 at 8:00 pm; Saturdays, July 29 and August 5 at 8:00 pm; and Sundays, July 30 and August 6 at 2:00 pm. Tickets range from $25.50 - $29.50 for adults with discounts available for seniors, students, and children under 12 for select performances and Thursday evening performances. Seussical Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com.

For more information or to reserve tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm and two hours prior to performances. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers.

The 2023 Summer Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of Summer Sponsor: Explore Warren, as well as, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor the House of the Good Shepherd.

Photo Credit: Trevor Callahan

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