Dear friends, family, and patrons of the Barnstormers Theatre,
It is with such pride and honor that I am able to present to you Seussical the Musical Jr. I feel so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by 45 amazing, kind, and joyful cast members as well as 5 fantastic crew members. When I first started music directing the youth theater in 2019, we only had 14 cast members. During the height of the pandemic, Ethan McKellar (program director) and I were worried about the future of the youth theater group. Barnstormers Youth Theater was so new that we feared it would not survive the shutdown. However, last summer, when we did Annie Jr., we were able to bring back theater to Ridley Park and to our youth community. That show led us to be able to expand youth theater beyond our teenage- level group and start a children’s theater. At the end of Summer 2021, I was asked to direct a holiday musical. When I selected, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr., I had no idea what to expect. I recruited my partner in crime and in life, Trevor Jones and we began this journey directing children’s theater together. I am truly blessed to share this experience with him and my sisters who are members of our cast.
Community theater means the world to me. I participated in children’s theater as a child and that is where my love of singing, performing, and creating a show stemmed from. I made lasting friendships and learned how to work together with other children to tell a story through song and dance. To be able to see these cast members grow from kids who did not know each other at all to very close friends has been very special. I have also loved seeing timid and scared kids flourish on stage. This group has learned and grown in love for one another and the craft of theater. For many cast members, this is their first time on stage EVER. I keep coming back to volunteer with this group because of the joy, laughter, and fun these kids bring back to my life. They are silly and wonderful in every way. I love that I can share these memories with them.
The show Seussical the Musical was a show that I fell in love with in 8th grade at Ridley Middle School. I played the role of Gertrude McFuzz. All of the characters in this show are challenging, fun, and fantastical. I knew that at the end of this show process, even in 2009, I was not the same performer as when I started. I hope that all of you can see that in these performers as well.
The story of Seussical is unparalleled in the valuable lessons it teaches. This story reminds us that we are all human, no matter where we come from, what we look like, or how we choose to live our lives. It teaches us the importance of friendship, loyalty, and acceptance. Gertrude McFuzz teaches us to accept our own self-image, Horton teaches us to stick to our values, and Jojo reminds us that our imagination and thoughts are beautiful no matter how different they seem from those around us. This silly show is sure to make you laugh and cry while getting quite a few songs stuck in your head. Please enjoy our rendition of Seussical the Musical Jr, Spring 2022.
With so much love,
Kyleigh Bleacher