Bub & Me: Seussical the Musical @ Esplanade Theatre, Singapore

We went for another live performance again today!! This time to watch Seussical the Musical at Esplanade Theatre. I'm posting our family experience fast since the musical is only playing for this weekend and will end on Sun 8 Nov 15, but you can still grab your tickets from SISTIC.

And oh, because we're flying off to Bangkok early tomorrow morning too hehe. Yes, I'm totally milking the time we can travel outside of the usual school holiday period before Lil Pumpkin starts primary 1 next year. This trip will probably be our last one for the year... unless I can squeeze in something for December too??? (⌒-⌒)☆

This is our first time watching a play inside the Esplanade {or "the Durian"}, although we've been there many times since it is so near Merlion Park and they often have free exhibitions and shows there on the open stage for local/ overseas performers during events like Octoburst! {9 - 11 Oct 15} and Kalaa Utsavam {20 - 29 Nov 15}.

There's a 1,600 seat Concert Hall, and a 2,000-seat Theatre next door where we watched the musical. The Theatre is very lush and seats are oh-so comfortable.

I didn't spot a cloak room to get the booster seats but we easily got a cushioned one from the usher after entering the theatre.

We look kinda wacky in this family photo but I like it!! haha..

I reckon that the musical did Dr Seuss' imaginative world justice by bringing to life some of his most memorable characters in an incredible stage filled with simple, yet eye-popping props. Gosh, I would love to play on that slide!! (*^▽^*)

It's always a feat, I feel, when there are stage adaptions of your favourite whimsical books as you're not quite sure if the stories you've loved and imagined in your head can be properly translated to reality.

There's no animation or special effects to fall back on like in the movies to create the magic, and there really must be impeccable stage designs, actors and costumes.

Some of these stage adaptations fall flat, but luckily, I think that Seussical the Musical succeeded in drawing you into Dr Seuss' land of fantasy and bizarre inhabitants.

The musical features a compilation of whimsical elements, characters and delightful verses from some of Dr. Seuss classics – Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat etc. It's probably easier to follow the story and understand the characters {especially with the stylised stylish costumes} if you've read the books, but even if you've not, the musical is still a good introduction into the fanciful world of Dr Seuss.

In the fast-paced musical, Horton the Elephant discovers a small world floating by on a tiny speck of dust. This small world is floating out of control through the universe and is the home of the Whos, including Jojo – a Who with “thinks” that defy all description. Between them they must find a way to save Who from a world of naysayers and dangers.

But Horton faces a double challenge as he’s been left alone to guard an egg abandoned by Mayzie La Bird. Caught between a dust speck and his incubating egg, Horton is truly alone in the universe, but while he faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and ends up on trial, he finally realises that the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz has never lost faith in him and was always behind him all the way.

As a child, I liked to write my own mash-up of various fairytales too {one of them got published in our school magazine too hehe} and loved seeing all the different characters coming together in one story-line that celebrates friendship, loyalty and individuality.

They are all so endearing and easily makes us fall in love with them like we did with the books. It's easy to pinpoint the Cat in the Hat as the star of the performance {although to be politically-correct, they are all stars in their own right, of course} but the show-stoppers for me were definitely Horton the Elephant who was perfectly enthusiastic and loyal to a fault, as well as Mayzie La Bird with her colourful and larger-than-life character.

I'm all for little pockets of me-time to recharge and value yourself, but the mummy in me disapproved of her totally abandoning her baby egg though!!! Plus maybe I'm such a prude, but I thought the part where she revealed the egg a little.. erm, not PG-enough for the young audience (*≧▽≦)

But overall, the 30{?} catchy & original songs in the 1+ hour musical and the powerful vocals from all the characters were so impressive.  I'm not sure if all young kids would appreciate the loud music and high-energy dancing, but Lil Pumpkin liked it.

Time passed by pretty quickly and she wished that the performance lasted longer!!

At the end, we left the show in high spirits, still laughing from the quirky antics from the characters and Lil Pumpkin singing bits from "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!", which celebrates the imagination and encourages the audience to think . . . about thinking!

On the way out, we also got to meet the talented cast from the musical and snap some shots with them °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

It was definitely a fun family evening and what a fantastic way to start our weekend and little getaway! ♥


Here's a sneak peek of Seussical the Musical and if you're interested to watch it, there's only 2 more days so don’t miss your chance!

Seussical the Musical Singapore
Esplanade Theatre
Event period: 6 - 8 Nov 15
Ticket Price {excl. booking fee}:  S$58 {Restricted View}, $68, $78, $88, $98, $108
Show Times: 5pm {Fri}, 11am & 3pm {Sat & Sun}
Duration: 75 mins {no interval}
Website: http://www.aba-productions.com/productions_SMSG.asp?cid=08
*No minimum age for this performance and all audience members must have their own ticket. Infant in arms are not allowed.

Check out the rest of our Bub & Me activities or list of kid-friendly places in Singapore too. Another great family show, Cirque Du Soliel's TOTEM, is also playing now at the Bayfront Avenue so don't miss that too!

* Disclosure: Unless otherwise stated, images belong to ABA Productions.. All opinions are my own.

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