‘Seussical’ tips its hat to the small fry

Ample populist enjoyment accompanies “Seussical: The Musical” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty and Eric Idle’s much-maligned 2000 celebration of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s oeuvre receives a smoothly executed touring production, its ensemble spearheaded by Cathy Rigby’s irresistible Cat in the Hat.

Rigby’s feline “host and emcee” seizes Segerstrom Hall with the infectious opener, “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!”: “Take a tip from the Cat / And hold onto your hat! / ‘Cause this ain’t Mother Goose! / Think right over the brink / When you think about Seuss!”

This paean to unbridled imagination, delivered by a cast packed into a white cube, dotting James Kronzer’s initial black-box setting, establishes audience surrogate JoJo (Richard Miron, alternating with Drake English).

At the song’s swelling finish, Cat and kid close the box, and “Seussical” begins its journey.

It starts in the Jungle of Nool, well delineated by Kronzer’s set pieces. The inhabitants are more suggestive than imitative, with David Woolard’s costume designs a delicious blend of thrift-store chic and abstract cheek.

Their wearers include the gospel-wailing Sour Kangaroo (Natasha Yvette Williams); contrasting fowl Gertrude McFuzz (Garrett Long) and Mayzie LaBird (Gaelen Gilliland); and, crucially, Horton the Elephant (Eric Leviton).

His travails dominate Ahrens and Flaherty’s libretto. This combines “Horton Hears a Who” and “Horton Hatches the Egg” with the tale of would-be girlfriend Gertrude, plus snippets ranging from “McElligot’s Pool” to “Solla Sollew.”

Horton finds a clover blossom that houses the infinitesimal Whos, depicted in Christopher Ashley’s staging as pastel-clad suburbanite mites. Chief among them is the Mayor (Don Stitt), Mrs. Mayor (Amy Griffin) and their thinkaholic son, JoJo, who bonds with Horton in the lovely ballad “Alone in the Universe.”

When a passing scavenger bird absconds with the clover, Horton’s mission of recovery is hindered by the petulant Mayzie. Desiring a Florida vacation, she entices Horton into egg-sitting, which is where Act 1 ends.

Act 2 finds tree-dwelling Horton trapped in the Circus McGurkus, with JoJo adrift in the starry miasma created by Howell Binkley’s exceptional lighting.

Ashley’s direction is solid, as is Patti Colombo and John Charron’s choreography. Their contributions, along with Paul Rubin’s flying direction and the design factions, reach memorable peaks in the airborne, black-lighted McElligot’s Pool extravaganza and the tickling Act 2 circus parade.

The agile Rigby is wonderful company, carrying the proceedings with ease of voice and person. Whether supplying wry one-liners while shooting Silly String, nailing the vaudeville-styled “How Lucky You Are” or changing personas at the drop of a hat, she is a genuine star performer.

Leviton’s appealing Horton has an unforced directness and a clear pop baritone. Long’s Gertrude is both piquant and poignant, and Gilliland’s loopy Mayzie recalls the young Christine Ebersole. Williams is a fierce soul sister, Miron a refreshingly unaffected youngster, and their colleagues are all having a ball.

Judging from audience reaction at the reviewed performance, so will Who-sized viewers, though grown-up Grinches might be less enchanted. Ahrens and Flaherty are the best songwriting team currently working on Broadway, but their eclectic song palette here, while charming, doesn’t touch their Tony-winning “Ragtime” score.

Some stylistic disarray seems inevitable, given Seuss’s idiosyncrasies and the show’s hybrid of revue and musical -- a revusical, perhaps. The overstuffed architecture lacks emotional point, its balance torn between too many protagonists and ideas. While such Seussian lifts as “A person’s a person / No matter how small” are admirable notions, they don’t stand in for cogent form.

Though “Seussical” is sure to delight the small, the tall may find it less an original theater confection than an expertly appointed theme-park attraction.

*

‘Seussical: The Musical’

Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday, Friday, 8 p.m.; Thursday, 2 and 8 p.m.

Ends: Next Saturday

Price: $22-$57

Contact: (714) 740-7878 or (213) 365-3500

Running Time: 2 hrs., 15 min.