Highland Hills Middle School will stage Seussical Junior, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who, with performances scheduled Thursday and Saturday of this week, a staff member said.

The production, the staff member said, grew from auditions that drew “over a 20 middle school kids,” and culminated in “about 62 cast members and about 15 tech, which puts us over 80.” That scale, organizers said, has allowed older students to mentor younger cast members and offered multiple students leading roles.

Staff member (Highland Hills Middle School) described the show as “colorful and joyful,” and said its themes of imagination and acceptance were central to the choice of material. A student performer reflected on character work and mentorship, saying taking a lead role for a second year required developing distinct voices and mannerisms for scenes. Another student described the character Horton as “just so honest and true to the earth” and said the story shows “you can be who you want and people will accept you for it in the end.”

Organizers did not provide ticketing information, exact performance times, or the year’s calendar dates during the remarks. The staff member noted only that the performances are scheduled for “Thursday and Saturday of this week.”

The production brings together cast and technical volunteers across middle grades, with staff emphasizing the educational aspects of theater participation: performance skills, voice and movement work, and peer mentoring. No formal decisions, votes, budgets, or outside authorities were mentioned in the remarks.

Performances are expected to be community events for students and families; additional details such as ticket prices or exact show times were not specified in the transcript.