Students from McIntire Elementary School will bring several Dr. Seuss books to life.
Fifty-five elementary students will present "Seussical the Musical" at 7 p.m. tonight at Champ Auditorium at Westminster College in Fulton. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
McIntire music teacher Jessica Carter said the play combines several of Dr. Seuss' most famous works.
"This play is definitely for the Dr. Seuss lovers," she said. "It combines quite a few of his stories, including the two 'Horton' stories, 'The Cat in the Hat,' and 'One Fish, Two Fish.'"
Students will sing songs, tell stories and reenact the classic childrens' tales. Carter said preparing for the performances has been a lot of hard work.
"We have been practicing since the first week of January," she said. "There are 16 songs and 55 kids from second to fifth grade. Second-graders are the members of 'Whoville,' third-graders are the 'jungle citizens' and the fourth-and fifth-graders have the speaking roles."
McIntire Principal Mark Clements said putting on musicals has become a school staple.
"There is definitely a McIntire musical tradition," he said. "It has been very successful for at least the last 10 years."
Clements said the performance - which is open to the public - runs 40-45 minutes.
"We have it at Champ Auditorium so that parents and the community can attend," he said. "We used to host it at the school, but it just got too big. The kids also get a big kick out of going to Champ, and it strengthens our relationship with Westminster."
Carter said the performance is only possible because of the help from parents and teachers at McIntire.
"We have had lots of parent involvement and feel very blessed by that," she said. "The students and their parents made the props, as did some of the other teachers. Cami Webb, my assistant director, has also been an awesome help."
Tickets to the performance can be purchased at the door for $2 each.