There are two things to know about Dr. Seuss, and they are "Thing 1" and "Thing 2." Believe it or not, the first time I was exposed to a Dr. Seuss story was in fourth grade, when a teacher read my class the story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Still, as the Cat in the Hat (Jason Haberman '15) would tell us in the Hillel Theater Group's production of Seussical, we should always expand our horizons and thoughts when we are in the world of Horton and the Whos.

Before the show started, the two famous Things from the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 (Abby Kirshbaum '16 and Courtney Comart '16), sought to liven up the audience as they cartwheeled around the theater and even stole the band conductor's (Alex Faye '15) baton. The show began wildly with a loud yet playful musical ensemble singing about the wonders of imagination, accompanied by the Things, who played joint roles in the show as assistants, and playful, acrobatic clowns.

Soon, the Cat and his guest (Nicole Wittels '15), who act as narrators, transport the audience to the Jungle of Nool, where a sad elephant named Horton (Aaron Hentoff '16) lives a solitary life. Gertrude McFuzz (Kristi Freedman '14), a bird with a one-feather tail, constantly tries to seek his love and attention, but loses her confidence because she doesn't sport extravagant plumage like her friend Mayzie La Bird (Caley Chase '16).

The story comes into focus as Horton hears invisible cries for help emanating from the air. Although the other inhabitants of the Jungle brand Horton as delusional, the sad elephant was still determined to find the beings in distress, and he eventually does. He soon discovers the beings that cried for help, known as Whos, on a speck of dust. With his signature lyric, "a person's a person, no matter how small," Horton promises to protect the Whos even if the other jungle inhabitants think he's crazy. Hentoff manages to capture Horton's lonely yet determined attitude in his singing, combining a fine mix of perseverance and occasional dejection.

Meanwhile, in a subplot of the show, the audience gets to see a magnified version of the Whos' world, which comprises the Mayor and his wife (Robbie Steinberg '13 and Valarie Timms '16); General Schmitz (Matt Crowley '15), who uses a spoon as a weapon and playfully folds "green eggs and ham" into his marching chants; the Grinch (John Schnorrenberg '14), dressed in a Santa suit; as well as other Whos. While all the actors captured the peculiar character of the Whos, the main focus of the Whos' world was a young boy named Jojo, who is, funnily enough, portrayed by the Cat's female companion Wittels (after some hair and headwear adjustments, that is).

Much like Horton, Jojo is considered an outcast in his community of Whos. His parents, the mayor and his wife, think Jojo was on a dangerous path of delinquency for "thinking too many 'thinks.' " So, they send him to the General's military school where he can "become a man," not knowing that Jojo's "thinks," from his interactions with Horton, would actually save the Whos world.
As the plot unfolds even more, the audience is brought along with Horton and Jojo on a wild chase around the world after Horton loses the Whos when Jungle hunters, the Wickersham Brothers (Ian Carroll '15, Felix Liu Ku '15 and Danny Steinberg '15) confront the elephant-who is hilariously sold to the Circus McGurkus after the Cat tries to auction him off to the audience.

Eventually, Horton is put on trial to confirm his supposed craziness and delusions from believing in the invisible Whos. It was at this moment that Gertrude McFuzz finally perks up her confidence to stand up for her beloved elephant, and prove the existence of the Whos, who, under the leadership of Jojo, manage to cry out loud to summon the jungle's attention and clear Horton and Jojo's names.

The show concludes with an ensemble of the cast, who once again reminded the audience of Dr. Seuss' most central lessons: to have many "thinks" in our lives, and to always expand our imaginations. As someone who has not experienced the world of Dr. Seuss that much, Seussical, with all its hilarity, audience interaction and general insanity, certainly made my midterm season a lot more fun. It teaches all of us, in a hilariously ridiculous kind of way, that the world is much more than the mere establishment, and that the most successful tend to be the most determined, albeit awkward, individuals.