Seussical AP Review

NEW YORK (AP) --''After all those years being stuck on a page, did you ever imagine you'd see me onstage?'' asks that fabulous feline, the Cat in the Hat -- right off the bat. No, not really, especially after dire reports from Boston where ''Seussical," a musical celebration of Dr. Seuss, underwent a turbulent tryout earlier this year.

Seuss fans, though, rest easy. Whatever its earlier problems, ''Seussical,'' which opened Thursday at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre, doesn't make mush of the good doctor and his more than 40 children's books chock full of sense and nonsense. In fact, this ''Seussical'' sings and dances with style and charm. What's more, it's fun, a quality scarcely found in these days of pre-Christmas bustle and post-election uncertainty. One likes to think that Theodor Seuss Geisel, who died in 1991, would be pleased with what the show's creators and production team have done to honor -- both verbally and visually -- the author's whimsical point of view.

A little whimsy is a dangerous thing and the ''Seussical'' creators have, for the most part, avoided the sappy, trying instead for a sassy show-biz approach with a touch of the subversive that kiddies of all ages will appreciate. Much of the anarchy is provided, of course, by the Cat in the Hat, the musical's master of mischief. The agile and angular David Shiner, towering striped hat perched on his head, looks just right as this sly creature. He's a pen-and-ink Seuss illustration come to life. Although Shiner isn't much of a singer, he gets by on impishness, charming his way around notes he can't quite reach.

Yet creators Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (with an assist from Monty Python veteran Eric Idle) have not neglected the heart either, using Seuss' most lovable icon, Horton the elephant, as a through line. They have boiled down the evening to basically two of the better-known tales, ''Horton Hears a Who!'' and ''Horton Hatches the Egg,'' augmenting the stories with characters, both major and minor, from other Seuss efforts. Even the Grinch and Yertle the Turtle make cameo appearances.

Horton is played by the cuddly Kevin Chamberlin, a large, sad-faced comedian. The elephant demonstrates his loyalty to the Who, a world of tiny folk trapped in a speck of dust on the head of a clover. No one can hear their pleas except this put-upon pachyderm. Among the residents of Whoville are a mayor and his missus, the gently comic Stuart Zagnit and Alice Playten, a musical-comedy original too long absent from Broadway. Ahrens and Flaherty have given Horton a love interest, too: Gertrude McFuzz, a bird with, alas, only a one-feather tail. She wants more, but will the extra plumage make Horton notice her? Janine LaManna, a powerhouse Kewpie doll, portrays Gertrude and stops the show in the second act with her ''All for You'' hymn to Horton. The elephant also forms a bond with JoJo (Anthony Blair Hall), a Who child experiencing the same type of rejection as Horton. The two join in a heartfelt duet called ''Alone in the Universe.'' The Gertrude-Horton romance gets sidetracked in Act 2 by the elephant's good heart, when he agrees to sit on the egg of Mayzie LaBird, portrayed by the vampish Michele Pawk.

Tying together the two Horton stories takes a bit of doing, and the plot gets a little lost in some courtroom shenanigans that do, however, bring Gertrude back into her true love's life. Ahrens provided the score's snappy lyrics, which dovetail nicely with Seuss' expert verse. Flaherty's lively music, showcased in Doug Besterman's snazzy orchestrations, embraces a cornucopia of styles. His melodic horn of plenty includes everything from Broadway ballads to Motown to swing to Latin sounds to John Philip Sousa to ragtime to even a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan for the militaristic Gen. Schmitz.

Rob Marshall came aboard to take over from Frank Galati, still listed in the theater program as the director. Whoever did what to keep the show afloat, ''Seussical'' makes all the right moves, aided largely by Kathleen Marshall's terrific choreography. It offers a world of continuous motion. The woman makes dancing look delicious, particularly in an aquatic number that offers a witty swimming-pool homage to Esther Williams as well as what looks like a salute to that immortal surfing duo, Jan and Dean. The musical's kaleidoscopic sets, designed by Eugene Lee, have been lighted by Natasha Katz in big, bold primary colors. You can see where the money -- reportedly upward of $10 million -- went in creating a lavish environment where both the Whos and jungle creatures would feel at home. William Ivey Long's outlandish costumes are in keeping with the nature of Seuss' exotic creations. In the end, though, imagination is what ''Seussical'' is all about. It's no surprise that a number called ''Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!'' -- which opens and closes the show -- is its theme song. The song encourages its listeners to wonder, to take a chance and to let their minds soar as high as the freewheeling spirit of Dr. Seuss.