Erin Breen (left), Kyle Dewsnap and Kevin Corey in Seussical The Musical.

If there’s one word to describe Alberta Theatre Projects’ (ATP’s) family holiday presentation Seussical the Musical, it is psychedelic. Seussical is a veritable feast for the eyes. From tie-dyed leggings, to a blue-and-green feathered tail that spans the width of the stage, to fabric, slinky-like things that ornament costumes, to brightly coloured silk fish that hang from a clothesline suspended above the stage. The show is bright, colourful and zany. As someone described it, it’s like a “four-year-old’s imagination exploded on the stage.” Set and costume designer John Pennoyer definitely deserves kudos.

Of course, in a show geared for children, the more action, colour and visual stimulation, the better. In fact, the only slow spots in the show, during which I witnessed young eyes wandering, are a couple of thoughtful musical numbers. Thankfully, there weren’t too many of those; most of the music has an upbeat tempo. The show clipped along at a good pace, and there always seemed to be something new appearing onstage — or above the stage, or in the audience — to keep the youngest audience members riveted.

The story, of course, is minimal and uncomplicated. When comparing Seussical to past family shows ATP has presented for the holidays, this one is the simplest from a plot perspective and is geared towards even younger audiences. (ATP advertises Seussical for ages six and up.)

Seussical — written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty — incorporates plots and characters from a few different stories by Dr. Seuss, and weaves them into one cohesive whole.

Seuss’s most iconic character — The Cat in the Hat (played by a wonderfully sly Dave Kelly) — emerges from a manhole, accompanied by wisps of fog and smoke, to bring the audience into the magical world of Seuss. He wanders in and out of the play, sometimes commenting on the action onstage, sometimes participating in it.

Seussical’s main plot comes from the Dr. Seuss book Horton Hears a Who! It follows Horton the Elephant (played by a chubby-faced, endearing Sheldon Bergstrom), who hears people talking on a tiny speck of dust. It turns out the speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to the city of Who-ville and the Whos. Horton sets out to protect these microscopic people by carrying their planet around on a piece of clover, which he guards religiously. This gives rise to the oft-repeated refrain in the show, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” Of course, the other inhabitants of the Jungle of Nool tease him, because they can’t hear the Whos and think Horton is crazy.

The audience meets the Mayor of Who-ville (Kevin Corey), his wife (Erin Breen), and son JoJo (Kyle Dewsnap and Marcus Trummer).

Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg also makes its way into Seussical, when Mayzie — a self-centred bird with a fabulous orange tail (Natascha Girgis) — convinces Horton to sit on her egg while she takes a short break. Of course, she takes off, leaving Horton to guard the egg.

Throughout the show, Gertrude McFuzz, the bird with the one-feathered tail (Ksenia Thurgood) tries to capture Horton’s attention. She evens visits Doctor Dake to get pills from the Pill-berry Bush (one of the show’s many fabulous props) in order to grow a more impressive tail, in the hopes Horton will notice her.

The show is filled with songs and dance numbers, many featuring energetic choreography. I couldn’t help but sway along to the music from my seat. To be frank, however, I expected more vocal power from the cast when delivering the group musical numbers. Sometimes, the singing seemed thin. (With the exception of Michelle E. White as the Sour Kangaroo, who is a vocal powerhouse.)

The best parts of the show came when the audience was invited to participate, as they were when the Cat in the Hat, as auctioneer, got the youngsters to throw out bids on Horton. In fact, I would have liked even a bit more audience participation, given the youthful nature of the theatregoers. The kids clearly had a blast when they were invited to interact.

The production ran about 90 minutes, just the right length. Any longer, and it would have overstayed its stage time.

There were a few jokes aimed at the adults in the audience, including references to Joan Rivers’s plastic surgery and Kelly’s television career. But Seussical is not one of those shows that operates consistently on two levels. That doesn’t detract from the production in any way; it only cements the impression that Seussical the Musical is a show you attend only if you have children to accompany you, so you can experience the magic of the production through their eyes.