The Grinch lives in Lutz.
Cameron LeVine, a freshman at Blake High School, has been cast as the iconic Christmas villain in the New Tampa Players’ musical production of “Seussical.” The play is based on the characters and stories created by popular children’s author Dr. Seuss.
(Courtesy of New Tampa Players)
LeVine will play both the Grinch and Yertle the Turtle when the play gets under way this August. For now, he’s excited to tackle the roles and start rehearsing.
“I’m so honored. The Grinch is my favorite out of the Dr. Seuss stories,” LeVine said. “I love how over the top mean he is, but not in a bad way.”
LeVine is just one of 50 performers in the cast. His sister, Madison, also is part of the play as an ensemble performer. In all, “Seussical” has more than a dozen actors from Lutz and Land O’ Lakes, and director Craig Hartfield said there was no lack of talent when they had auditions late last month.
“This audition process was terribly difficult, not because of (problems) finding talented people, but rather juggling them all,” he said.
Hartfield went into auditions thinking he wanted around 35 for the production, but expanded it when he saw the potential among those who auditioned. In most versions of “Seussical,” many actors take on dual roles, so it was easy to split them up to make room for more performers, he said.
Hartfield hasn’t seen any performances of the Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty creation, and he prefers to keep it that way. Watching it could influence the New Tampa Players’ production, and it’s important to simply read through the script and assemble the play based on his own vision, Hartfield said.
He is, however, very familiar with the stories the musical is based on, and was attracted to the play partially due to growing up with the popular characters that will be represented on stage. Hartfield also is familiar with LeVine’s work, and chose him due to the versatility he’s displayed in previous plays.
“I’ve seen him in shows and been impressed with his ability to really change himself to take on different roles,” Hartfield said. “I saw him recently in a show where he played two different characters, and he did them so differently that I think a lot of people wouldn’t have recognized him as the same guy. He changed his whole physicality.”
LeVine is ready to do the same for this production. Even though he also hasn’t seen any versions of “Seussical,” he already has an idea of how he wants to approach the Grinch.
“I feel that, as a character, he’d be very loose so he’d walk around goofy,” LeVine said. “And he would have this very distinct, mean face that’s cringing all the time at everything.”
Yertle the Turtle is a very different character, so he plans to approach that portrayal as an older animal with a more distinguished presence.
While this is LeVine’s first play for New Tampa Players, he’s already performed in nearly 30 productions. There are many opportunities to sing and act in the area, and community theater is alive and well, with actors he’s met from nearby communities like Dade City and Fishhawk Ranch in Lithia coming here to perform, he said.
He also gets to work with actors he knows very well. Since his younger sister also is in the play, LeVine will have an opportunity to share the overall experience with Madison as he prepares for his roles.
While they don’t get to perform together on a regular basis, he appreciates having a sibling with the same mindset during the run-up to opening night.
“It makes it so much easier, because now someone in the family understands my craziness when I’m talking about stuff about ‘Seussical’ or any other show we’re in together,” he said.
While rehearsals have just begun, Hartfield said the process has gone so well that he can shape the production to his liking without any singing or acting deficits in the cast.
“Honestly, in community theater, there’s often a role or two that you are still looking to fill after you’re done with auditions because there was nobody who showed up who was exactly right for this character. That happens more often than not,” he said. “But in this case I came out of this going, ‘I should have no problem having all the right sounds I need and all the actors are really great for what they’re going to be doing.’”
“Seussical” will be performed at CrossPointe Church of the Nazarene, 919 Debuel Road in Lutz, on the weekends of Aug. 1-3 and Aug. 8-10.
For more information about New Tampa Players, call (813) 386-6687, or visit NewTampaPlayers.org.
Published June 11, 2014
See this story in print: Click Here
