Put together a compassionate elephant, a sassy marsupial, an imaginative kid, a dapperly dressed cat and a host of other colorful animals and you can only have one thing – “Seussical the Musical.”

Rhyming children’s author Dr. Seuss’s most popular books and characters come will come to life on the Old Rochester Regional stage this week as the high school drama club performs the Broadway production.

“It’s a wonderful show for high school students because there are so many parts to it,” said Director Paul Sardinha. “It’s a fun fantasy show.”

The basis of the musical is “Horton Hears a Who,” in which a kindly elephant tries to protect the residents of Whoville who reside on a speck of dust.

Other Seuss classics are woven throughout the play, including “The Lorax,” “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” and, of course, “The Cat in the Hat.”

Moving the plot along (and occasionally derailing it) is the Cat in the Hat who narrates.

“I just spice things up a little,” said Makenzie Despres, who will play the mischievous feline.

Making sure the characters and the story meet the expectation of the audience, especially kids, is important.

“When you pick a show that is as stylized as Seussical is, you have to present things that the kids are going to be expecting,” said Sardinha.

It’s a lot of pressure, but a recent trip to see “Mama Mia” helped students understand how much energy they need to bring to the ORR stage.

“They still give the same amount of energy they did their opening night,” said Sara Achorn. “It’s definitely something we all have to work towards. The more into it we get, the more into it the audience is going to be.”

A freshman, Achorn landed one of the leading roles as the villain Sour Kangaroo. Like Achorn, the other leads all say they resonate with the characters and have nostalgia for Seuss’s tales.

“It’s really cool getting to perform these parts that were such a part of me and all of our childhoods,” said Troy Rood, who plays Horton.

As Jojo, Kaeli Peters said the play helped her get in touch with her childhood.

“These are the stories we grew up with. The books we first learned,” she said.

The students also said they now see adult themes they missed as kids, which makes the stories even richer.

“I’m just excited for everyone to come and see it,” said Rood.

Seussical will be performed Thursday to Saturday, April 3 to 5, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 6 at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices are $12.00 for students and senior citizens and $15.00 for the general public. They may be purchased at Plumb Corner Market in Rochester, Pen and Pendulum in Mattapoisett, and The Marion General Store in Marion. Tickets will be available at the door until sold out.

For more ticket information, contact Lisa Cardoza at 508-758-6762.