Spending the week in sunny San Diego, California, I’ll be sharing with you all the highlights of my vacation through a “Visit San Diego” series this month. This trip features a lot of firsts for hubby and I, despite having been to San Diego 6 years ago on a road trip. With the help from San Diego Tourism Authority, we were given several recommendations for our trip, one being to visit The Old Globe theatre in Balboa Park and watch Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax musical.

Direct from London’s West End comes the critically acclaimed Dr. Seuss musical, The Lorax, on stage from July 2 to August 12. I was excited to hear that this production would be staged while I was in San Diego. As mentioned in my previous article, Top 10 Geeky Things To Do in San Diego, Dr. Seuss previously lived in La Jolla, San Diego, and was a long time resident in the city. The Lorax story and the Truffala trees were inspired by his stay in San Diego, so it was important to watch the musical here at The Old Globe and celebrate one of Dr. Seuss’ most popular stories, now transformed into a musical.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”  – Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

The musical, similar to the book, is a reminder to us all that we must be more environmentally friendly, more sustainable with our natural resources. With human nature, the drive to succeed and the greed that transpires, The Lorax is a reminder to us that we need to start caring more for our environment, otherwise there will be nothing left to enjoy. The musical is able to keep the same message the story had, and elevate it even more with heart warming/wrenching musical numbers such as “Everything You Need’s Right Here” or “We Are One”. At times I could see audience members wiping away their tears or laughing at jokes, including a Trump impersonation by the Once-ler.

Kudos to the set designers and costume designers, who were able to create a dynamic set that included colorful Truffala trees, beautifully feathered costumes for the birds, swans and bears, and an amazing puppet for The Lorax himself. Both the sets and the costumes at times were highly colorful, kept to the images you would see in Dr. Seuss’ books.

Outstanding roles were the two main leads – Steven Epp, who plays the Once-ler, and H.Adam Harris, who’s the main voice and puppeteer for The Lorax, both carried the show and offered a complemented each other quite nicely.

Overall I was extremely grateful for being able to enjoy an evening at The Old Globe, a famous part of San Diego’s arts community and a historical landmark in Balboa Park.

Make sure to catch a show at The Old Globe if you’re visiting San Diego, they will be staging Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas from November 3 to December 29 for the holiday season this year. The Dr. Seuss shows are popular for the family, but also entertaining for adults who grew up reading his books.

Don’t forget to check out The Old Globe’s website here, so you can find out what the latest shows are. This summer, they are showing Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park, a couple of different Shakespeare plays, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas.