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Amelie Harris, Halle Grace jannette, Adele Middleton and Alexa Hardy wait backstage in their costumes for the begining of “Suessical the Musical.” (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

(Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

Director Leigh Anne Mason gives a last-minute pep talk before Wednesday’s matinee show. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

Jada Gibson and Reene Slover wait for the Dr. Seuss-inspired production to start. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

(Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

(Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

(Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)

NATCHEZ — All the Whos down in Whoville and their animal friends are dropping by the Natchez Little Theatre this weekend for a live musical performance.

Leigh Anne Mason, director of the children’s play, said 41 cast members from each of every public and private school in the Miss-Lou between ages 6 and 15 put on the show, called “Seussical the Musical,” for hundreds of students Wednesday.

“We had almost 200 kids at 9 a.m. and about the same at noon,” Mason said. “We have every school in the area represented in our cast, including the public and private schools in Natchez as well as Vidalia public schools and Delta Charter School.”

Tonight at 7:30 is the official opening of “Seussical the Musical” to a public audience, Mason said. Tickets are $20 each and may be purchased in advance at natchezlittletheatre.com or the box office at the theatre on Linton Avenue.

Shows also start at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday.

“The musical is based entirely off of Dr. Seuss’ books and every word in the play rhymes,” Mason said. “(The kids) are having a blast. Everyone is singing the songs in their sleep, even the parents working backstage. Our cast has really come together and are making new friends and are putting on a really good show.”

Mason said auditions started the first Saturday in January and students rehearsed every Monday Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for a month for about two hours each time.

“The costumes are amazing,” Mason said. “We have jungle animals, monkeys and birds, the Whos from Whoville with their little button noses and even the good ole Grinch will be here. They’ve put in a lot of work.”

Mason said she is proud of her cast for putting together a show that everyone will enjoy.

“They’ve really come together as a group and put in the hard work and they’re a talented bunch of kids,” she said. “This is something that you don’t want to miss. If you have kids from ages 1 to 91, bring them and they will enjoy the show.”

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