By BILL MICKELSON

What’s Up

In addition to the many outlandish creatures and places he created — like Thing 1 and Thing 2 and the land of Kalamazoo, and, of course, his incessant rhyming rhetoric which kids have devoured for decades, one of the most lasting contributions Theodor Seuss Geisel has imparted through the pages of his children’s books is the power to imagine.

To imagine that a cat with a red-and-white-striped hat could visit a couple of kids on a cold rainy day and run amok while their mother’s away, or that a guy named Sam could cook up a delectable dish of green eggs and ham, we’ve all heard those two tales.

Now imagine a world built on a tiny speck of dust, in tumult, its people’s cries are heard by an elephant who must save them from the inevitable crush that comes when living on a speck of dust.

OK, I’m not going to keep rhyming through this entire article, though it’s rather tempting after seeing the Western Washington Center for the Arts latest performance of “Suessical, the Musical.”

It’s running for one more weekend, Dec. 15-16, for all those who love to think great, big thinks.

It’s a sort of unlikely pairing, Dr. Seuss and musical theater, but usually within a Seussian society, the more unusual the circumstances the more enjoyable the experience.

As the spotlight shines down on the iconic red-and-white-striped hat to begin the show, the cat (Stephanie Ronge) is about to take a boy played by Ben Delacy along with the audience on an imaginative adventure for all to enjoy.

Of all the wonderful worlds and characters from Dr. Seuss’ 44 published children’s books, “Seussical” is centered around the story of Horton the Elephant, who, for those who didn’t know, has heard a Who! (You know the Who’s, those tormented by The Grinch around Christmastime).

In this story, Horton has heard the tiny cries of the Who’s, who are living on the brink of war on a speck of dust, the smallest planet in the universe. They say their future is in the hands of this clumsily compassionate elephant played by Joe McCoy.

Even though everyone else in his home forest, the Jungle of Nool, thinks the elephant has gone mad, still Horton persists, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

But on the other side of the coin, this show also examines how smaller folks can be struck down for something like thinking too big. The boy (Delacy) is thrown into the story as Mayor of Whoville’s son Jojo, and is immediately scorned by his parents for having too big of thinks.

Soon the boy who is said to think too big and the elephant who is said to think too small become each other’s only true friend in the universe through an endearing song.

The “Seussical” universe is riddled with characters like Gertrude McFuzz and the Amazine Mayzie (from “The One Feather Tail of Miss Gertrude McFuzz”) and General Ghengis Khan Schmitz (from “I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew”).

And though the world often seems upended, in the end it is all well mended.

“Seussical, the Musical” directed by Jan Ewen, will be showing at WWCA through Dec. 16 at the Port Orchard theater, 521 Bay St. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 seniors, $10 for youth and $5 for students. Info: www.wwca.us or call (360) 769-SHOW.

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