LYNNWOOD—The Ballyhoo Theater and Edmonds College are presenting Seussical TYA (Theater for Young Audiences) at the Black Box Theater at Edmonds College in Lynnwood, from February 20 through March 8.
Seussical is a fantastical, family-friendly musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty that weaves together classic Dr. Seuss stories—primarily Horton Hears a Who!, Horton Hatches the Egg, and Gertrude McFuzz. Narrated by the Cat in the Hat, the plot follows Horton the Elephant as he protects the tiny inhabitants of Whoville and guards an abandoned egg, teaching lessons on friendship, loyalty, and imagination.
Audience members can expect to see some of Dr. Suess’ most beloved characters including Horton the Elephant, The Cat in the Hat, Gertrude McFuzz, Lazy Mayzie, and a little boy with a big imagination named Jojo.
The cast includes Caleb Ryden as the Cat in the Hat, Rosie Alexander and Ian MacDonald as JoJo, Teddy Meyer as Horton the Elephant, Ella Tennant Swenson as Gertrude McFuzz, Alia Thomaier as Mayzie LaBird, Becca Mercado as Sour Kangaroo, Emma Drazkowski as the Mayor, Evan Ponyah as Vlad, Hannah Mohiman as Bird Girl, Dorothea Koetze in the ensemble, Note Aguilar in the ensemble, Rylynn Davis as Wickersham Brother, Hales Morries as Wickersham Brother, Sebastian Borges as Wickersham Brother, Sara Persson in ensemble, Hugh MacDonald in the ensemble, and Lily Carsen in the ensemble.
One of Ballyhoo’s missions is to make live theatre accessible to families who might not otherwise have the chance to attend. In partnership with Edmonds College, the theater is proud to be producing its second completely free children’s show for the community.
Last year Ballyhoo welcomed over 1,700 children and their families into the theatre for its multi-award nominated A Year with Frog and Toad. This year the theater will be bringing that magic back with something wonderfully whimsical: Seussical TYA.
Performances will be held at the Black Box Theatre at Edmonds College (20310 68th Ave W, Lynnwood, WA 98036), February 20-March 8, 2026. For free tickets please visit ballyhootheatre.org.
About Ballyhoo Theater
Ballyhoo Theatre’s purpose is to enrich, educate and entertain our community by providing a superior theatre experience, to provide education in the theatre arts to children and young adults, and to create a safe and inclusive environment.
It does this by providing a program of educational experiences in all aspects of theater, inspiring recognition and support to encourage young theater artists, supporting talented youth financially through theatrical productions, creating quality entertainment through theatrical productions, fostering an open, safe and inclusive environment for young people to express who they are, and promoting the values of respect, pride and unity.
The Ballyhoo Theater in Edmonds has a mission to keep the arts accessible and inclusive to everyone. That’s why they offer free and sliding priced tickets (as low as $4 or $5) for each one of their shows.
The idea for Ballyhoo theater (named after the ‘ballyhoos’, or promoters, who would stand outside theaters promoting a play) came from Corey, whose background is in education, wanting to bring a safe space for children to practice the arts.
Although the theater was founded in 1999, it first began as a sort of homeschooled theater arts program over the summer. It wasn’t until 2015 when Ballyhoo became a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit with an official theater space. This is when, according to Managing Director Shileah Corey, the vision behind Ballyhoo truly solidified.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
