SeuSSicAl - First Stage

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About the Playwrightand the ComposerTaken directly from: Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty: http://www.ahrensandflaherty.com/Lynn was born on October 1, 1948 in New York and spent most of her childhood in Neptune, New Jersey. Shegraduated from Syracuse University in 1970 with a degree in journalism. While she knew that she wanted tocome to New York city after graduation, she never really considered writing for musical theater. “I’d only seenone musical, Fiddler on the Roof, I loved it, but it didn’t compute”, she told Show Music Magazine. Instead, she spentmany years in advertising, working her way up from copy secretary to senior vice president at Mccaffrey and Mccall whereSchoolhouse Rock was developed. In 1978, she formed her own production company and created a series of educationalprograms for children. In 1982, on a whim, she auditioned for the BMI Musical Theater Workshop, where she met Stephen.They began working together the following year.Stephen was born in Pittsburgh on September 18, 1960, and graduated from the Cincinnati College Conservatory in1982. Unlike Lynn, he knew from age 12 that he wanted to write musicals, and composed his first score at age 14. Hismentor was Lehman Engel, founder of the BMI Workshop. Stephen entered the workshop right after graduation, and therest is history.Some of the early projects Lynn and Stephen worked on included a musical version of the film Bedazzled and a onehourmusical version of The Emperor’s New Clothes.Lynn AhrensStephen FlahertyLynn Ahrens won theatre’s triple crown—the 1998 TonyAward, Drama Desk Award and outer critics circle Award—forthe score of the Broadway musical Ragtime (book by TerrenceMcNally) and received two Grammy nominations for its castrecordings. Also in 1998, she received two Academy Awardnominations and two Golden Globe nominations for thesongs and score of Anastasia, Twentieth Century Fox’s firstfeature animation. Most recently Ms. Ahrens was representedon Broadway with book and lyrics for Seussical (Grammynomination) and off-Broadway with lyrics for A Man of NoImportance at Lincoln Center Theatre (book by TerrenceMcNally, 2003 outer critics circle Award, Best Musical). Shewrote book and lyrics for the long-running Broadway hit Onceon this Island (London’s Olivier Award, Best Musical, twoTony nominations); book and lyrics for Lucky Stiff (HelenHayes Award, Best Musical); lyrics, My Favorite Year (LincolnCenter Theatre). All the above have music by long-time collaboratorStephen Flaherty. Ms. Ahrens is the lyricist and cobookwriter for A Christmas Carol (music by Alan Menken,co-book by Mike Ockrent) which has run for ten years atMadison Square Garden. For her work in network television asa songwriter, creator and producer, Ms. Ahrens has receivedthe Emmy Award and four Emmy nominations. Her songs are amainstay of the renowned animated series Schoolhouse Rock.She is a member of ASCAP, the Academy of Motion PictureArts and sciences and the National Academy of Recording Artsand Sciences; she serves on the Dramatists Guild Council andthe Board of Directors of Young Playwrights, Inc; she co-chairsthe Dramatists Guild’s Jonathon Larson Musical TheatreFellows Program.Stephen Flaherty has written music for theater, film andthe concert hall. He won the Tony, Drama Desk and OuterCritics Circle Awards for his music for the Broadway productionof Ragtime. Mr. Flaherty was also nominated for theGrammy Award for the recordings Songs From Ragtimeand Ragtime: Original Broadway Cast Recording. OtherBroadway composing credits include: Seussical (DramaDesk and Grammy Award nominations), Once on thisIsland (Tony nominations for Best Score and Best Musical;Olivier Award for London’s Best Musical), My FavoriteYear (Lincoln Center Theatre) and Neil Simon’s Proposals(Incidental Music). He is also the composer of A Man of NoImportance, which was produced in New York by LincolnCenter Theatre, Gertrude Stein’s A Long Gay Book (directedand adapted by Frank Galati), and the musical farce LuckyStiff. Film work includes Anastasia (Academy Award nominationsfor Best Score and Best Song; 2 Golden Globe nominations).His concert pieces have been performed at theHollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall among others. The Ahrensand Flaherty Songbook, a collection of his theatre and filmsongs written with lyricist Lynn Ahrens, has been publishedby Warner Bros. Publications. Stephen is a member of theDramatists Guild Council.6
Recommended ReadingThe Dr. Seuss List:And to Think That I saw it on Mulberry Street, 1937The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, 1938The King’s Stilts, 1939Horton Hatches the Egg, 1940McElligot’s Pool, 1947Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose, 1948Bartholomew and the Oobleck, 1949If I Ran the Zoo, 1950Scrambled Eggs Super!, 1953Horton Hears a Who, 1954On Beyond Zebra!, 1955If I Ran the Circus, 1956How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, 1957The Cat in the Hat, 1957The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, 1958Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, 1958Happy Birthday to You!, 1959Green Eggs and Ham, 1960One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, 1960The Sneetches and Other Stories, 1961Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book, 1962Hop on Pop, 1962Dr. Seuss’s ABC, 1963Fox in Socks, 1965I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, 1965The Cat in the Hat Songbook, 1967The Foot Book, 1968I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today, 1969I Can Draw Myself, 1970Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, 1970The Lorax, 1971Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!, 1972Shape of Me and Other Stuff, 1973Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?, 1973There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!, 1974Great Day for Up!, 1974Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!, 1975The Cat’s Quizzer, 1976I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!, 1978Oh Say Can You Say?, 1979Hunches in Bunches, 1982The Butter Battle Book, 1984You’re Only Old Once!, 1986Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, 1990Daisy-Head Mayzie, 1995Pre-Show Questions1. In Seussical, many of the characters feel like no one truly understands them. Have you ever felt this way?Have you ever stood up for something different than everyone else? How did it make you feel?2. Some of the characters in Seussical are very caring, including Horton. He helps Mayzie sit on her egg and helpssave Whoville. Have you ever helped a friend or even someone you didn’t know? How did that make you feel whenyou were done?3. Dr. Seuss is known for creating nonsense words in his stories. Can you think of any made up words you rememberfrom his books? Listen for them as you watch the show!4. JoJo, the Who, gets in trouble for splashing water in the bathtub as he imagines the wonderful things in McElligot’spool. What are some things you daydream about? When is it alright to daydream, and when isn’t it? See if you canset aside some time this week to daydream—daydreaming is good for you!7
Page 2 and 3: Insidethe GuideSetting the Stagepre
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Page 8 and 9: Oh See, What Do You See?Art and Sci
Page 10 and 11: Seuss Read-A-ThonLanguage Arts Clas
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Page 16 and 17: Compassion CloversSocial and Emotio
Page 19: Who Said It? (Answers)1. Oh the thi

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