Children's show at Mattie Kelly Arts Center

The annual Children's Series at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center presents a national touring series of live theatrical events based on bestselling children's literature. The daytime performances are open with advance reservations to school groups and accompanied homeschool students for a nominal fee of $6 per student and chaperones, with teachers admitted free of charge.

The award-winning story SEUSSICAL appears Jan. 22 for two performances at 9:45 and 11:30 a.m. on the Mainstage. The show is recommended for grades K to 5th. Reservations are now being accepted for all four of the 2015-2016 season Children's Series shows, including SEUSSICAL, on a first-come basis. Call Suzanne Flood, audience services specialist at 850-729-6065 or email flooda2@nwfsc.edu for reservations and information.

Study guides and activities are available to help teachers incorporate the event into their curriculum and prepare students for a field trip to the theater.

Adapted from the Broadway version, this adaptation especially for young audiences features 13 actors and enhanced production values. Seussical is TheatreworksUSA' biggest show ever.

The Cat in the Hat is the host and emcee (and all-around mischief-maker) in this romp through the Seuss classics. When the sweet, good-natured elephant Horton hears a small cry for help coming from a small speck of dust, he promises to rescue and guard it because "a person's a person, no matter how small."

On that small speck of dust lives JoJo, an imaginative young Who. JoJo has astounding "thinks," in which anything's possible, but his parents believe this creativity is inappropriate for the son of the Mayor of Who-Ville.

Meanwhile, the one-feathered bird, Miss Gertrude McFuzz, desperately wants Horton to notice her. Maybe, she thinks, she just needs a more impressive tail. At the same time, the amazingly lazy Maysie La Bird connives, cajoles and convinces Horton to sit on her egg while she goes off on a spree.

Will the planet of Who survive? Will Horton pay attention to Gertrude? Will Maysie ever return for her egg? Dr. Seuss's beloved classic characters find themselves intertwined in an incredible crazy-quilt adventure, in which the power of imagination and the most miraculous "think" ever save the day!