All the Whos in Whoville mastered up a magical production and are bringing it to Sacramento State, starting Friday.

“Seussical the Musical” is coming to campus and is ready to take the stage with vibrant costumes, imaginative puppet characters and a whole lot of Dr. Seuss’ rhymes.

Director Richard Bay, who has been a professor of theatre at Sac State for 28 years, said he decided to direct the musical at Sac State because of the resources available on campus. In the musical, Bay added puppets, special effects and other technical aspects that he said many other theaters aren’t able to do.

Bay also said that Sac State has a number of outstanding musical theater students that bring creativity and life to the roles. Bay originally only wanted to cast 20 people for the various roles. Many talented people auditioned, and Bay ended up casting 37 of them.

Dr. Seuss is usually only associated with children, but Bay said the music in the show is very eclectic and should appeal to any age.

The costumes also promise to be eclectic and colorful. Nina Pinckard, costume technician and designer for the show, said her favorite part of working on the production was working on the inventive costumes.

“It’s not your normal run-of-the-mill thing,” Pinckard said.

Pinckard said those involved with the Seuss costumes just let “(their) imagination run wild and play with it.”

Paul Riggs, a senior majoring in theatre, was wearing his green “Green Eggs and Ham” shirt while working on a puppet near Bay’s desk.

“I love puppets, and it’s because of that man,” Riggs said, pointing to Bay.

Riggs is a sound and lighting tech for the show and said he has enjoyed working on the production because it is so different from previous musicals that have been performed at Sac State.

“It’s a bit more lighthearted than most of the other productions,” Riggs said.

In preparation for the show, Bay was wearing a white T-shirt that advertises the musical. His office was cluttered with colorful props, costumes and decorations.

Bay said his favorite Dr. Seuss character is Thidwick from the book, “Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose.”

“And he’s not in the show,” Bay said. “I should just put a moose in here somewhere.” Bay said he believes Dr. Seuss books have made such a lasting impact in our culture because the characters are charming, while the storylines contain meaning.

“They deal with fundamental emotions and morals for adults and children,” Bay said. Bay specializes in puppetry and children’s theater, and has taught many classes, including introduction to theater, acting and more. His previous productions include “Honk,” “Medea” and “A Thousand Cranes.”

“Seussical the Musical” starts Friday and will run through March 25. The musical is a compilation of 14 of Dr. Seuss’ stories, including “The Cat in the Hat,” “Horton Hears a Who” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” It is a musical production that will take the audience through a wild ride filled with choreographed numbers, intriguing characters and Dr. Seuss’ time-tested wisdom.

General admission ticket prices are $15. Student and faculty tickets are $12 and children 10 and under are $10. Discounted tickets are available for the weekday shows. Showtimes are 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays , 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. For tickets call (916) 278-4323 or go to www.tickets.com. Amy Ball can be reached at [email protected]