[2] Following its Broadway debut in 2000, the show was widely panned by critics, and closed in 2001 with huge financial losses.

To begin the story, the Cat encourages the Boy to think up the Jungle of Nool, where Horton the Elephant is bathing.

The only exceptions are Horton's bird neighbors, Gertrude McFuzz, who admires his compassion, and Mayzie LaBird, who is more concerned about herself ("Biggest Blame Fool Playoff").

They also reveal that in addition to being unable to control where the speck flies, they are on the brink of war and their entire population of Truffula Trees has been cut down ("Here on Who").

Jojo inadvertently floods the house, leading the Mayor and his wife to contemplate what to do with their son ("How to Raise a Child").

Undeterred, Horton begins to look for the clover, hoping the Whos are still alive, when Gertrude catches up with him and tries to get him to notice her new tail.

Mayzie, sitting in a nearby tree, offers to help him forget about the Whos by hatching an egg that she is too lazy to care for ("How Lucky You Are (Reprise)").

Schmitz assumes the worst and heads to Who-ville to tell Jojo's parents that their son has died ("A Message from the Front").

Gertrude sneaks into the circus to free Horton, explaining she plucked out all but one of her tail feathers to fly there, and confesses her love for him.

He orders Horton remanded to the "Nool Asylum for the Criminally Insane" and the clover destroyed in a kettle of hot "Beezle-Nut" oil.

Jojo finally uses his Thinks to conjure a new word, "Yopp", which he shouts loudly enough to reach the animals' ears.

[4] Positive early buzz set off a bidding war among New York theatre producers, with Barry and Fran Weissler acquiring the rights.

[6] An extensive sequence adapting The Lorax was seen in the original script, which involved Jojo meeting the Once-ler (played by Eddie Korbich in Boston) after deserting the army, and receiving the last Truffula Tree seed from him, giving him the courage to save Who-ville.

Relevant characters included the Lorax himself as well as Bar-ba-loots, Swomee-Swans, and Humming-Fish, who would all appear and disappear as the Once-ler told his story.

The sequence faced numerous difficulties due to the show's already lengthy running time, and was ultimately cut entirely after its Boston tryout.

However, for Broadway, Zuber was replaced by William Ivey Long, whose costumes were more realistic and clashed with the Seussian set design.

[5] In January 2001,[7] in response to falling ticket sales, producers brought in Rosie O'Donnell to replace Shiner as the Cat in the Hat for a month-long engagement.

After O'Donnell's run ended, Shiner returned to Seussical as the Cat in the Hat in February until March.

[5] In March, young pop star Aaron Carter and former Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby were cast as JoJo and the Cat respectively for short engagements.

The biggest change involved Jojo, who would now initially appear as an anonymous boy imagining the events onstage before the Cat pushed him into the story.

Seussical opened on the West End at the Arts Theatre on December 4, 2012, presented by Selladoor Worldwide.

It is intended to be shorter and more accessible for junior high or middle school students, and has an average run time of 60 minutes.

Notable differences between Jr. and KIDS include the introduction of three Cats in the Hats and the removal of the songs "Biggest Blame Fool", "Amayzing Mayzie", and "Notice Me, Horton".