Scott Highlands Middle School's show ‘Seussical Jr.’ opens March 16

The story centers on a young boy named JoJo who summons Cat in the Hat with his imagination and is taken to the Jungle of Nool for a “fantastical adventure,” the release said.

“There JoJo learns of the plight of the tiny citizens of Whoville, who live on a planet the size of a speck of dust. Their sole protector is Horton the Elephant, who is the only one with large and sensitive enough ears to hear them bipping and beeping and playing their oompahs. The small world is threatened by Sour Kangaroo and the Wickersham Brothers, who in disbelief that a world could be so small, try to steal the dust-speck so they can cast it into a vat of Beezle-Nut oil,” the release said.

“During all of this drama, Horton has not noticed that he has an admirer, Gertrude McFuzz. She blames his indifference on her one-feather short tail and endeavors to find a way to change her looks. Meanwhile, Horton’s friend, Mayzie La Bird, is bored of perching on her nest, and convinces the watchful elephant to sit on her egg so she can take a vacation. The Cat follows all of these storylines and finally casts the boy into his own as the irresponsible son of Mr. and Mrs. Mayor of Whoville, JoJo, who ultimately saves his whole tiny world with one big, imaginative ‘think.’”

“Seussical Jr.” is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized materials are supplied by Music Theatre International in New York.

Performances are set for 7 p.m. March 16 and 17, and 5 p.m. March 18 at Scott Highlands Middle School, 14011 Pilot Knob Road in Apple Valley. Tickets can be purchased the evening of the show or in the main office the week before the show. They cost $5 for adults and $3 for students.