After playing small parts in two area productions of Seussical, Marc DiNicola decided to audition for the role of the Cat in the Hat in the Family Players of Northeastern New York’s show.
`I just decided it was time to step up,` said DiNicola, a recent graduate of Mohonasen High School.
That decision paid off, as DiNicola landed the part and has been having a great time rehearsing for the musical, which runs from July 7 to 11 at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland. A cast of nearly 70 brings to life well-known Dr. Seuss characters such Horton the Elephant, the citizens of Whoville and the Grinch. While the play has some serious moments, for the most part it’s a light-hearted tale aimed at all ages.
`It’s bright and very colorful,` said DiNicola, who called the `music and energy` his favorite parts of the show.
The production boasts a cast of everyone from `6- to 7-year-olds to 50-year-olds,` said Dave Dixon, who plays the mayor of Whoville.
Being in his mid-40s himself, Dixon was attracted to `Seussical` in part because it reminded him of growing up reading Dr. Seuss classics.
`It takes me back to my childhood,` he said. `It’s a chance to leave all your worries behind and escape into the world of Dr. Seuss.`
In this particular world, Jojo, the son of Dixon’s character, is a bit of an outcast because he `thinks too much,` Dixon said. In Whoville, thinking is not an activity that’s encouraged.
`We feel like we’re not good parents, maybe,` Dixon said.
Hoping to instill some discipline in their son, the mayor and his wife send him to military school. Jojo doesn’t fit in there, either.
`He has no friends,` said Connor Olney, 12, who plays Jojo. `He’s alone. He’s just by himself.`
An Acadia Middle School student, Olney has been acting since he was in fourth grade. He draws on that experience when he’s conveying Jojo’s emotions.
`The only hard part is when everyone else in a scene is happy and I have to be sad,` he said.
Like DiNicola, Olney has been in `Seussical` before, playing a Who, a circus performer and a fish in the Schenectady Light Opera Company’s production. Being a main character is fun, he said, because he gets to sing his own songs.
Beyond that, he likes the chance to just have a good time on stage.
`Other shows can be serious or sad,` he said. `This is mostly fun and energetic.`
Suzanne Talarico Rucinski, who plays Jojo’s mother, Mrs. Mayor, couldn’t say enough about what her young co-star brings to the stage.
`He’s so incredibly mature,` she said. Her husband worked with Olney on the SLOC show and told her `You will love working with Connor,` she said, and she’s certainly found that to be true.
She had high praise for the entire cast, saying it’s a treat to work on such a large production.
`It’s interesting to meet a lot of other people,` she said. `They’re so talented in their own right.`
Having seen `Seussical` at SLOC and area high schools, when Talarico Rucinski heard Northeast Family Players was going to do the show, she thought it would be fun to take part. An actor since the mid-1970s, this show marked a departure from the serious fare she usually does.
`I’m usually the naughty maid or the psycho with the gun,` she said with a laugh.
The fun aspect isn’t all that drew her to the show. Talarico Rucinski really likes the message it delivers: `A person is a person, no matter how small.`
`It’s very character driven,` director Thomas Bambury said, noting that when Jojo struggles with his identity, the Cat in the Hat, Horton and others `try to guide him to find his own path.`
Dixon can relate somewhat to JoJo’s struggle. One of the reasons he took up acting some 25 years ago was `just to escape some of your daily life,` he said.
Talarico Rucinski also likes the chance acting allows her to `be other things and do other things` than she normally would in her daily life.
Bambury said he tries to allow the actors a chance to infuse the characters with their own personality, and that Seussical is the `perfect launching pad` for that kind of creativity.
That’s not to say the actors have free reign. DiNicola said that because many of the people in the show have been involved in `Seussical` elsewhere, they came to this production with some preconceived ideas about characters. For instance, they might envision characters delivering lines in a certain way ` but that didn’t necessarily mesh with Bambury’s vision.
`We had to break the habits,` DiNicola said. `We kind of came to a happy medium.`
Bambury has worked hard to put his own stamp on the show, pointing to the distinct color scheme and personalities found in Whoville.
`It’s almost out of this world,` he said.
He worked closely with musical director Olga Martinez and believes the final product is one that will leave audience members more than satisfied.
`It’s laugh out loud hysterical at times, but there’s a little bit of a darker side,` Brambury said. `It’s just a beautiful way to spend a summer night.`
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the park or in advance by calling 331-4158.
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