Since she attended grade school, Jeanna Daebelliehn, now a teacher in Waukegan, has been passionate about musicals. She grew up with a father who worked as a theater and music director at a local park district, and she loved attending, acting and singing in the productions.
Now she’s directing and choreographing the first children’s musical the Kirk Players has done in its 50-year history.
Daebelliehn of Round Lake is directing the whimsical, fast paced, “Seussical the Musical, Jr.” Written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, it opens Friday at Mundelein High School.
Daebelliehn has directed “Seussical” before, at the Round Lake Park District and for St. Gilbert School in Grayslake. The self-described “very energetic, over-the-top” director said she loves the show because, “It’s a show full of colorful characters and memorable rhyming words that are straight out of the Dr. Seuss books. The music is very upbeat. And the message of friendship is important.”
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She also enjoys working with the singers, actors and dancers ranging in age from 6 to 16, she added.
“Seussical’s” plot centers on Horton the elephant, who is trying to protect the microscopic residents of Whoville, and convince others they even exist.
“The characters are so fun,” Daebelliehn said. The Cat in the Hat serves as the emcee and the narrator of the show. Thomas Ferro from Mundelein is playing the Cat in the Hat. He has to be versatile, changing characters from being a reporter and a doctor, she said.
“These kids have got a lot of talents,” Daebelliehn said. “They are just amazing to work with. A lot of them have done shows before. They’ve done theater at schools. A lot of them are in choir. Thomas is in choir. He dances. He’s quite a talented young man. These kids bring a lot of fine art experience with them.”
Thomas and Sammie Cruz, who portrays Jo Jo, “work really well together,” she added. For example, in one scene, Jo Jo and Horton are dancing with fish, as a bathtub turns into a swimming pool.
“I have Thomas lifting Sammie up. She’s trusting him on lifting her. That trust and being able to work together has been really good,” Daebelliehn said.
She added she also gives the actors a chance to try their own ideas. “I’ll talk to Thomas about portraying a character and then he comes up with how he’s going to do it. He’s actually helping produce the show.”
Daebelliehn said her favorite quote from the musical is: “A person’s a person no matter how small.”
“I’m petite, and that’s the perfect quote for me, and for the show,” she said.
Daebelliehn belonged to an international thespians theater group in high school and performed in musicals, such as “Oklahoma” and “Oliver.” After graduating from college, she also appeared in several PM&L Theatre productions in Antioch.
Last year, she got involved with Kirk Players by appearing in the musical, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?”
“It was the first musical they had done,” Daebelliehn said. “We had a blast.” She said Kirk Players’ president Paddy Lynn talked about doing another musical, and Daebelliehn was selected to direct, “Seussical.”
“I hope it’s the first of many more,” she said.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance writer.
“Seussical the Musical, Jr.”
When: Friday to Sunday
Where: Kirk Players, Mundelein High School auditorium, 1350 W. Hawley St.
Tickets: $10 to $20
Information: 847-521-6192 or go to kirkplayers.org