By Luke Thomas, February 3, 2026
The Actors Collaborating with Technicians Club opened the spring season with “Seussical: The Musical” after the deaths of two Cal Poly Pomona theater community members.
An adaptation of the musical written by Lynn Ahrens and directed by Miyuki Mori, the ACT Club’s “Seussical: The Musical” brings the whimsical stories of Dr. Seuss to life on the mainstage theater in Building 25. However, two core members of the CPP theater community died during production, leaving a lasting impact on everyone involved in the musical.
At the beginning of our production, our assistant director (Giselle Aguilar) passed away, and it was really hard to keep going,” said production manager Anya Ramirez. “It was hard for us to motivate other people when we didn’t know how to motivate ourselves.”
The club dedicated “Seussical” to Aguilar, honoring her as their “angel in the wings.”
“Then two weeks ago, our professor Brian Newman passed away, who acted as department-wide production manager,” said Meleena Lopez, the ACT president and prop designer for the musical. “I wanted him to watch this show and be proud of us. … We’re dedicating this show to him as well.”
“Seussical” is narrated by Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat, played by Liam Coan, who starred in last semester’s “Anon(ymous).” The Cat guides the audience through the story of Horton the Elephant, played by Joel Ajin-Rivera, who finds a tiny speck that contains the land of the Whos he must protect from a hostile outside world. On this speck, a Who named Jojo, played by Ramirez, is being sent to military school for “thinking too many thinks.”
The play continues the ACT club’s tradition of staging a yearly musical, which halted in 2021 due to COVID-19 but reignited last year with the club’s production of “Tick, Tick… Boom.” Performed on a larger stage, “Seussical” is a far more ambitious production for the club according to Ramirez.
“Perseverance was our biggest theme throughout this entire journey,” Ramirez said. “We have faced so many obstacles. It was a challenge even getting the club started up.”
ACT Club musicals are entirely student run, giving the club creative control over how to adapt the play for the campus’ stage. However, it also means there is a lot more work for both the cast and crew. As a smaller club, starting the year with 60 people but lowering to 40, everyone in “Seussical” must take on multiple responsibilities both on and off stage according to Lopez.
“When everything’s student run, there’s a really good sense of community because everybody relates to each other,” said Devon Godfrey, the club’s co-president. “Everybody that’s involved in this show cares very deeply about it.”
Despite all the obstacles along the way, the ACT Club wants to inspire the audience to see the possibilities of theater and reflect the theme of “anything’s possible” that “Seussical” promotes.
“Everyone deserves a good show,” Ramirez said. “That’s what I’ve been telling everyone. After everything we’ve been through this entire (production), we deserve to put on a good show, and you deserve to watch a good show.”
The musical is structured for two acts and features many Dr. Seuss icons, including an appearance of the Grinch, played by Jackson Burton.
Tickets for “Seussical: The Musical” are still on sale online for Feb. 5 to Feb. 6, showing in Building 25’s mainstage theater. Admission costs $11.50 online and $10 in-person for the showtimes 1p.m. Feb. 5 and 7 p.m. Feb. 5 and Feb. 6.
