Horton is the gentle giant of The Jungle of Nool.  He is fiercely loyal, however, and sees every task through to the end with determination, no matter what hardships it brings to him. Throughout the show, his main objective is to take care of those that are defenseless: The magical and invisible land of Whoville, and the abandoned egg left to his care by Mayzie LaBird. He is ridiculed and bullied but sticks to his gut and his morals and is eventually rewarded with love and everlasting friendship from those he has protected.  

Voice: Tenor

High Note: F4

Low Note: A2

JoJo is a young Who child who lives in his very vivid imagination. He is always daydreaming and insisting that there is a world beyond Whoville. He continues to daydream despite being met with vitriolic disapproval when he expresses the “thinks” that are in his mind. His parents even send JoJo to military school in an effort to squash his creative impulses. JoJo is an outsider in his world, and longs for a friend who understands him. When he meets Horton, JoJo feels as though he’s finally found a kindred spirit. Horton helps him get in touch with who he truly wants to be, and focus on making that version of himself real, rather than conforming to the standards foisted upon him by his parents and the military academy. JoJo refuses to become a military cog and remains a loner and outsider in his group of cadets, but he is eventually rewarded for following his intuition, becoming a hero in the town of Whoville and honored as a “Thinker Non-Stop”. He and Horton are very similar and become great friends through their struggle to be appreciated in a world where no one wants to think outside the box.

Voice: Tenor

High Note: C5

Low Note: G#3/Ab3

The Cat in the Hat can be either a man or a woman taking on Dr. Seuss’s most popular character. Like in the books, The Cat is very mischievous, but with the best of intentions. He is the fun-loving narrator of the show and continually pops up to help the audience follow along and to make funny remarks about what’s happening. The Cat also steps into some of the smaller character roles. He or she loves to stir things up and create obstacles for the other characters, but none of these tricks and games ever causes any true problems. The Cat is a character that the audience should love from start to finish, and they are always let in on his the jokes.

Voice: Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone

High Note: F4

Low Note: F2

Gertrude is Horton’s neighbor and is also an outsider in their Jungle Community. She is timid and self-conscious. She admires Horton’s kind heart and his perseverance, but she feels as though she will never win his  affection. Gertrude despairs that she is plain, and considers herself ugly in comparison to the other jungle creatures. Gertrude asks Mayzie to help transform her, thinking that conforming to society's version of beauty will help her win Horton’s love. When Horton doesn’t notice her transformation and her new look proves to be more of a hinderance than help, Gertrude finally realizes that practicality is more important than beauty, and she begins to appreciate herself and her capacity for love, loyalty, and friendship. She uses this newfound confidence to help Horton plead his case and stand up for the Whos. She is triumphant and eventually wins his love by being who she truly is.

Voice: Soprano

High Note: F5

Low Note: F3

Mayzie is a celebrity in The Jungle of Nool, owing to her beauty and charisma. She uses her looks to get what she wants, and she loves the attention she gets. She is never happier than when she is the center of attention, and loves being doted upon by her posse of Bird Girls and by the other jungle creatures. When her antics leave her with an unplanned egg, she decides that she is not ready for the responsibility and instead leaves it with Horton, who she believes is much more qualified to care for it. She wishes to continue a carefree life and has no interest in responsibility of any kind.  

Voice: Mezzo-Soprano

High Note: D#5/Eb5

Low Note: G3

Sour Kangaroo is the Queen of the Jungle. She is fierce and unwavering and has lead a hard life, having struggled and fought to get to where she is today. She feels like there is no place for dreamers in a world where survival is key. Her security is threatened when Horton starts to talk about crazy things like Whoville existing in a speck of dust, and she is willing to do anything to stop him from disturbing the peace. She is a mother and can be very maternal and nurturing, although she passes on her cynicism to her child, Roo, discouraging any form of fanciful or imaginative thinking. Sour Kangaroo has a change of heart at the end when she realizes that Horton was telling the truth about Whoville, and we see how deep, compassionate, and maternal she can be when she vows to take care of the Whos.   

Voice: Belting, Legit

High Note: F5

Low Note: F#3/Gb3

Mr. Mayor is JoJo’s father and Mrs. Mayor’s husband. He has just been elected Mayor of Whoville and because of that, he recently decided that “upright behavior is thus forth expected” from the troublemaking JoJo. Therefore, he is incredibly disappointed in JoJo when his Thinks have caused him to be suspended from school. Mr. Mayor doesn’t know what to do with JoJo, so he and his wife decide to send him to military school because they care for and love him deeply and only want the best for their child and for him to stay out of trouble. He just wants to be a good father. While JoJo is at military school, Mr. Mayor misses him very much. Mr. Mayor also serves as the liaison between Horton the Elephant and the Whos in making sure that the Whos are safe on their dust speak.

Voice: Tenor

High Note: E4

Low Note: D3

Mrs. Mayor is JoJo’s mother and Mr. Mayor’s wife. Since her husband has just been elected Mayor of Whoville, she goes along with her husband’s declaration that “upright behavior is thus forth expected” from her troublemaking JoJo. Therefore, she is incredibly disappointed in JoJo when his Thinks have caused him to be suspended from school. Mrs. Mayor doesn’t know what to do with JoJo, so she and her husband decide to send him to military school. They care for Jojo and love him deeply, and they only want the best for their child and for him to stay out of trouble. In contrast to her husband, Mrs. Mayor is a little hesitant to send JoJo away, worrying that he might begin to hate them, but she agrees, seeing the benefits of military school on her son’s disposition. She just wants to be a good mother. While JoJo is at military school, Mrs. Mayor misses him very much.

Voice: Mezzo-Soprano

High Note: A4

Low Note:A3

General Genghis Kahn Schmitz is a “general crazy for war” and a Who. He is in charge of the military school that JoJo’s worried parents, the Mayor of Whoville and his wife, send him off to when they suddenly doubt their parenting abilities because of JoJo’s rampant Thinking. General Schmitz lives for his job, even though he is a buffoon and not incredibly good at it. He takes great pride in training his cadets to be perfect soldiers, and they go to war to fight the Butter Battle--General Schmitz believes that the only acceptable way to butter a piece of bread is butter side up, and his enemies are butter side down supporters. Schmitz fails to see the utter ridiculousness of this war and fails to understand why JoJo defects from his military academy. Schmitz is a great role for a character actor and has one featured song, “The Military.”

Voice: Baritone

High Note: E4

Low Note: B2

The Wickersham Brothers are a trio of monkeys who love to stir up trouble. Though they seem villainous, they are not “bad guys.” They just like to have a lot of fun, and their way of having fun is by teasing others. They often follow the Sour Kangaroo, the matriarch of the jungle, around, and like her, they do not believe that Horton the Elephant is hearing voices from a tiny dust speck (even though he really is). In their featured number, “Monkey Around,” they are actively looking for trouble to cause and thusly make fun of Horton when he happens to walk by. They steal the clover with the dust speck from Horton, causing him much distress, and they hand it off to black-bottomed eagle Vlad Vladikoff to drop it in a clover patch of identical clovers, which forces Horton to sift through every clover to find his.

Voice: Tenor, Baritone, Bass

High Note: C5

Low Note: G#2/Ab2

The Bird Girls are a fabulous trio of birds who serve several functions in Seussical. Though they have no significance to Seussical’s plot, they are a versatile Greek chorus. They serve as the beautiful bird Mayzie’s entourage during Act One. They often appear to narrate what is happening to the Horton the Elephant in the story. They serve as backup singers to the one-feather tail bird Gertrude McFuzz’s throughout the show. They comprise part of the jungle ensemble and in most productions are the primary ensemble singers and dancers. The Bird Girls have a huge responsibility in that they are essential to the storytelling of Seussical, and they must be able to sing in tight harmony.

Voice: Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto

High Note: F5

Low Note: F#3/Gb3

The ensemble consists of various creatures in the Jungle of Nool, the residents of Whoville, military academy leader General Genghis Khan Schmitz’s cadets, fish who appear in troublemaking boy JoJo’s McElligot’s pool fantasy, hunters that go after Horton the Elephant (since he is an elephant sitting on an egg), circus animals and members of the Circus McGurkus, and hunches who help JoJo find his way back home from the Butter Battle.

Voice: Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Age Range: Child, Early Teen, Late Teen, Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly​

Vlad Vladikoff is a black-bottomed eagle who lives in the Jungle of Nool. He only specifically appears in one number, “Chasing the Whos,” when the the Wickersham Brothers, a mischievous monkey trio, hand him the clover they stole from Horton the Elephant, so that he may dump it in a clover patch full of identical clovers to cause Horton distress. This role is usually doubled from the ensemble.

Voice: Tenor, Baritone, Bass​

Judge Yertle the Turtle is the head judge of the Jungle of Nool. He presides over the case of the People v. Horton the Elephant. He rules that Horton is crazy and that there are no people on his dust speck, even though none of that is true. He is specifically written to appear in two numbers, “Biggest Blame Fool” and “The People Versus Horton the Elephant” and is often doubled from the ensemble.

Voice: Baritone

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The Grinch is the known and loved character from Dr. Seuss’s Christmas tales. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! precedes Seussical in terms of timeline, so the Grinch is now a kind creature who reenacts his Christmas tale every Christmas for the residents of Whoville. This role is usually doubled from the ensemble.

Voice: Baritone

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