Bucks County Playhouse Youth Company to Stage SEUSSICAL JR. This August

The Bucks County Playhouse Youth Company will present a one-hour, family-friendly adaptation of the Broadway musical "Seussical Jr." tailored especially for young audiences.

The show will run August 2-12, 2017 on the Bucks County Playhouse stage on Wednesday, August 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday, August 10 at 11 a.m.; Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 11 a.m.; and Sunday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m.

"Seussical Jr." is presented by a cast consisting of 19 local performers ages 13-18, who are selected by audition for limited spots in this conservatory-style training program. This highly competitive program showcases and cultivates promising young artists who go on to audition for college theater programs and other professional theater productions throughout the region.

"Seussical Jr.," adapted from the Broadway musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, brings Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat and a collection of beloved Dr. Seuss characters to life onstage. Transporting audiences from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, the Cat in the Hat narrates the story of Horton the Elephant, who discovers a speck of dust containing tiny people called the Whos. Horton must protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, and he must also guard an abandoned egg that's been left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger 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.

"Seussical Jr." features music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. It was conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle and is based on the works of Dr. Seuss. The music is supervised, adapted and produced by Bryan Louiselle. The Bucks County Playhouse Youth Company production is directed and choreographed by Jessica Bostock with music direction by Dr. Joseph Ohrt. The creative team includes Tom Watson (Set Design), Jacob Gilbert (Lighting Design), Brian Strachan (Costume Design) and Ryan Walsh (Sound Design).

Youth Company participants this year represent 13 different high schools and middle schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The cast includes: Hudson Orfe of Titusville, NJ from American Boychoir School; Abby Harnum of Bordentown, NJ and Gabrielle Takacs of Fieldsboro, NJ, both from Bordentown Regional High School; Sophia Martino of Doylestown, PA from Central Bucks High School East; Seth Wohl of Warrington, PA from Central Bucks High School South; Andrew Bausher of Reading, PA from Exeter Township Senior High School; Sam Hastings and Morgan Schragger of Pennington, NJ from Hopewell Valley Central High School; Eric Bober of Ringoes, NJ from Hunterdon Central High School; Nathan Esser and Matthew Tomlinson of Doylestown, PA from La Salle College High School; Ellie Kuhnle of Doylestown, PA from Lenape Middle School; Riley Bultemeier, Lola Dardzinski, Travis Gawason and Jonah Silberman of New Hope, PA from New Hope-Solebury High School; Ben Johnson of Hellertown, PA from Saucon Valley Senior High School; Charlotte Goodman of Lambertville, NJ from Solebury School; Lily Flynn of Doylestown, PA from Tohickon Middle School.

Another unique element of the production is its repertory-style performance schedule alongside Bucks County Playhouse's subscription season production of "Guys and Dolls." The set and all of the technical elements of "Seussical Jr." are designed to fit into and around the permanent "Guys and Dolls" set pieces onstage during that time. "It's an interesting and exciting challenge," says Tom Watson, Technical Director of Bucks County Playhouse and Scenic Designer for "Seussical Jr.," "After every 'Seussical' performance, we have to quickly and safely strike all the scenic elements and set up for 'Guys and Dolls,' which is a very technically elaborate production. Then, at the end of the day, we put the 'Seussical' set back up and start the whole process again!"

Tickets are $10 for children ages 4-12, and $15 for adults, plus fees. No children under 4 will be permitted in the theater. The production will play the following schedule: Wednesday, August 2 at 7:30pm; Wednesday, August 10 at 11am; Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 11am; Sunday, August 6 at 7:30pm.

Single tickets to "Seussical Jr." are on sale now. For full details, and to purchase tickets, please visit buckscountyplayhouse.org, call 215-862-2121, or visit the box office at 70 South Main Street, New Hope, PA. For groups of 10 or more, contact Sales Manager Kathy Pappas at kathy@bcptheater.org or 267-740-2090 x102.

The Bucks County Playhouse Youth Company is one of several education initiatives and programs offered at the Playhouse. BCP Education offers a wide variety of programs in musical theatre, playwriting, storytelling, and devised theatre for children through adults. For more information or to register for fall programs, visit buckscountyplayhouse.org.

Bucks County Playhouse, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, is the oldest and largest professional Equity performing arts center in Bucks County. Under the direction of Tony Award-winning producers, Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman, the Playhouse provides first class professional theatrical entertainment as well as community events, partnerships and arts education programming for visitors and residents of New Hope, Doylestown, Lambertville and the Delaware Valley.

Located between Philadelphia and New York, Bucks County Playhouse opened in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill after a group of community activists, led by Broadway orchestrator Don Walker and playwright Moss Hart, rallied to save the building. The Playhouse quickly became one of the country's most famous regional theaters, featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, George S. Kaufman, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, Bert Lahr, Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Liza Minnelli and Audra McDonald and remained in continuous operation until December 2010. In 2012, the Playhouse re-opened thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein.

Since its renovation made possible by the Bridge Street Foundation, significant productions include Terrence McNally's "Mothers and Sons" starring Tyne Daly, which moved to Broadway and was nominated for two Tony Awards, and "Misery" by William Goldman based on the Stephen King novel which also went on to a Broadway run in the 2015-16 season. Two of the Playhouse's recent productions -- "Company" starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" -- were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. The Playhouse's productions of "Steel Magnolias" and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" broke box office records in 2016. "Buddy" returned in 2017 and transferred to the Kimmel Center, where it became the first regional theatre invited to perform at the prestigious venue. Thanks to the final stage of Bridge Street Foundation's vision for the New Hope waterfront, the Playhouse is currently in construction mode - as it adds a 4,000-square foot riverfront cafe and bar that is expected to open in 2018.