STAGE REVIEW: Seussical the Musical - at the Forum Theatre, Malvern, from Tuesday, August 23 to Saturday, August 27, 2016.

ALTHOUGH based on little things, if not extremely tiny ones, this show is bold, bright and a big success for everyone involved.

This year has certainly been a ground-breaking one for the Malvern Theatres Young Company which has in the past brilliantly concentrated on the stage’s more serious adult musicals such as The Little Shop of Horrors and Les Miserables.

This time round they’ve gone for a double bill featuring earlier this month Our Town, which took a look at life in a quiet American town in the early 1900s, and followed it up with all the colour and razzmatazz of Seuss’s creatively bizarre tales for children.

Almost all of Dr Seuss’s favourite characters spring to life on stage from the pages of his hugely popular books including Horton the Elephant, the Cat in the Hat, General Gengus Khan Schmitz, the Wickersham Brothers and also the Who. By the way that’s not Roger Daltrey and company but people who are not even as big as a speck of dust!

Seuss, in reality American Theodor Geisel, wrote many of his children’s books around the 1950s and 60s and this adaptation, a considerably complex amalgamation, is an immensely lively and loveable musical extravaganza from Tony-winners, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

It’s based mainly on Horton Hears a Who! - but others are successfully woven in. Whos, by the way, apparently live in their own little world on a speck of dust… and once Horton discovers them they have to be protected!

The Cat in the Hat, stylishly and confidently played by Ieuan Dolloway, neatly pulls all the strings to safely narrate us through the maze of friendship, love and loyalty and on to triumph over adversity. There are moments of wisdom too and even pointers on morals.

Lewis Allan’s Horton is first rate - the sort of elephant you wouldn’t mind taking home, while Jessie Mae Thomas’ Gertrude McFuzz, a blue bird with a small tail feather, and Hana Copestake’s irresponsible Mayzie La Bird equally impress.

Make no mistake, they can all sing and if any of them find themselves in the right place at the right time they do appear to have the talent for future success. And that also goes for Lydia Matthews (Sour Kangaroo). Fine voices all around they can act too.

A quick word too for Ben Mowbray who was a most expressive and energetic Mayor.

Overall this is a transport of delight for the audience from the Jungle of Nool to the Circus McGurkus, and the Whos mini world.

Two junior reviewers joined us on the night - grandson Theo and friend Lucas - and they thoroughly enjoyed the show. They particularly liked the Wickersham Brothers (George Chambers, Harry Jones and Alexander McDonald Smith) - three outrageously behaved monkeys, and Jo Jo (Max Morgan), the young Who boy who they empathised with.

“They were fun! We also thought The Cat in the Hat was very good and enjoyed the songs Green Eggs and Ham and Oh, the thinks you can think!”

A functional but colourful set worked well along with some very bright costumes for a large cast of 40-plus who were expertly guided through their paces by director Andy Reiss - with first class support from choreographer Katie Leeming, musical director David Lane and the orchestra.

It’s wonderfully creative and great to see the underdog eventually prevail against the odds.

Time is beginning to run out if you wish to catch this family-friendly production with further performances tonight, Friday and Saturday all starting at 7pm and there’s also a Saturday matinee at 2pm.