Credited as the world’s leading iteration of this cult classic live production, Showcase Entertainment Group presents Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat – Live on Stage! at selected venues across Canberra, New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria this January.
Initially adapted for stage in 2009 by the National Theatre of Britain, The Cat in the Hat tells the story of two siblings, Sally and Sam, home alone and bored on a wet and dreary day. Without notice, the duo are graced with a surprise visit from a stranger – a cat in his red and white striped hat!
Along with his friends, Thing One and Thing Two, this iconic feline uses the power of play and imagination to pass the time away and turn the house upside down with mess and excess. Not deterred by Sally and Sam’s outspoken and outraged pet fish, The Cat uses his ‘picker-up machine’ to save the day so nothing is amiss.
Capturing the hearts and minds of children and adults alike, Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Dr. Seuss as he is most famously known, is the literary legend and visual storyteller behind the fantastical world of The Cat in the Hat.
Published in 1957 and only 200 words long, the imaginative and whimsical tale of the world’s most iconic anthropomorphic cat revolutionised children’s literacy by adopting early philosophies in phonetic learning and educational science.
Arguably his most iconic story, The Cat in the Hat is equally praised for its playful and unrestrained use of fanciful illustrations and flamboyant colour; a design language and visual signature creatively applied across his other notable works, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who!, and a Fox in Socks to name a few.
Granted doctorates in literature and fine arts by seven universities and awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, Dr. Seuss’s legacy as a cultural icon is forever immortalised and celebrated in his rollicking rhymes and nutty narratives, and continues to serve as a joyful and memorable read for new generations.
Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat – Live on Stage! will be presented in Albury (15 January), Canberra (16 January), Frankston (18 January), Dandenong (19 January), Geelong (20 January), Warrnambool (21 January), Bendigo (22 January), Melbourne (24 & 25 January), Launceston (27 January) and Hobart (28 January). For more information, visit: www.catinthehatlive.com for details.
Image: Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat – Live on Stage! – courtesy of Showcase Entertainment Group