The 12.14 Foundation brings Seussical: The Musical to Connecticut. Emmy Award, Tony Award, and Drama Desk Award nominated John Tartaglia (Avenue Q, Shrek, Johnny and the Sprites) will play “The Cat in the Hat” and lead a cast of 86 Newtown area students in Seussical: The Musical.
The production takes place August 9, 10 and 11 at Newtown High School.
“I am so excited to perform with these amazing kids. Live theatre is a great way to help encourage healing and positive expression, as well as entertain and bring people together, and this is a perfect show to accomplish this,” said Tartaglia.
In addition to the 86 student performers, this production will offer 20 apprenticeship positions to junior and senior high school students.
“We are so pleased that Seussical, the first of what will be many collaborations between the world’s best in the arts and our amazing Newtown kids, is well underway,” said Michael Baroody, founder of the 12.14 Foundation. “Even as we enter long-term planning for the Newtown Performing Arts Center, we are putting into practice a programmatic element that will be the hallmark of this center. By pairing established professionals in one-on-one mentoring relationships with students, we will provide these children with tools for creative expression, innovation, and confidence that will spill over into every other aspect of their lives.”
Seussical authors Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty said, “We are grateful and honored that our show has been selected as the inaugural production of the 12.14 Foundation.”
The production includes 86 students from the Newtown area between the ages of 5 and 18.
The 12.14 Foundation was formed with a mission is to build a landmark Performing Arts Centre in Newtown, Connecticut, in memory of those lost on December 14, 2012. The organization aims to develop a premier Academy of the Arts with help from local, national, and international collaborations.