Though the Seussical is hosted every year in Pleasanton, this year was special in its own way, with a wonderful cast of engaging characters and amazing background effects that enhanced the environment to a new level.
Starting on March 11, students from Amador Valley and Foothill performed Seussical the Musical, a musical comedy written by Lynn Aherns and Stephen Flaherty, based on the many books written by Dr. Seuss. Students have been working very hard due to this being the first live-action show they’ve done in years. Amador and Foothill’s team hopes to inspire people to find their true selves through this musical
“I hope that little kids in the audience will feel the way that I felt when I was little looking at the stage. I hope it sparks passion in them. I hope that they feel either seen or I hope that they feel joy… and I hope some kid out there becomes closer to who they are because of this production,” said performer Sarah Chen (‘22).
Along with the live singing, Amador and Foothill’s band performed live as well. Students followed music teacher Mr. Aubel’s lead to create sound effects and background music for the show. The band makes the songs and action all the more enjoyable through their funky add-ons when doing comedic scenes or the melodious background music when it’s a sad scene.
“To prepare [for this musical] it was just basically learning a lot of music. It was a lot of music – way more than I’ve ever had to learn, like in this short amount of time. I got a book around 250 pages, and I still can’t play it perfectly, but I play it as best as I can. I’ve generally had to practice a lot in order to get this far,” said pit musician Julian Xiao (‘23).
The live-action performance interacted with the audience, and many people can relate to the feelings of these characters. The performer’s goals are to inspire young people to be interested in theater, and allow them to dream big.
“The performance was absolutely fabulous. I went on opening night, and I half-expected there to be some mishaps that occurred but it looked like everything went smoothly… One of my friends came with me and they have minimal experience with high school productions, and what they do know of that is they’re usually pretty bad, but they were so impressed by Amador and Foothill’s production of the Seussical,” said ASL teacher Ms. Britto.
Along with all of the students and band members preparing for this musical, the teachers were also very excited to see how this musical would turn out. Musical director Mr. Aubel and theater teacher Ms. Kirksey have been working for a long period of time in order to correct every student’s craft.
“The best part of the show is going to be the leads [who are] fantastic. The Gertrude’s and Horton’s and Mazyie’s are really amazing actors and singers and we have some great ensemble’s singing and dancing as well” said music director Mr. Aubel.
If you want to see more of Seussical, click on the segment linked below!
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