It's nice to know in this age of economic gloom and doom, that the City of Bloomington is providing its citizens with a bright spot.

"Seussical" now playing at Miller Park is free and readily available to the public. All you have to do is get to the park early enough to get a good seat, then sit back and enjoy the great outdoors and a fun show.

Co-conceived by Monty Python's Eric Idle, "Seussical" basically chronicles the adventures of Horton from the story "Horton Hears a Who."

Nobody believes it when Horton the elephant hears a cry from a tiny speck on a bit of clover. Horton is convinced that there is life on the tiny speck, and he vows to protect it.

"A person is a person, no matter how small," asserts Horton, played with just the right touch of tenderness by Brian Artman.

Rae Disco is a powerhouse as she portrays Horton's nemesis, Sour Kangaroo. She doesn't believe Horton and wants to trash his precious clover, the home of all of the tiny Whos.

Horton becomes distracted by Mayzie La Bird, played with panache by Jes Stiller, and is hoodwinked into sitting on her egg, instead of protecting his tiny friends of Whoville.

Gertrude McFuzz is in love with Horton, and although she struggles with the fact that she has but a few feathers, she eventually comes through and saves the day. Jeni Bratcher is adorable as the love-struck McFuzz, and her number "All For You" is one of the highlights of the show.

Also delightful are Matt Dratt as the show's narrator, the Cat in the Hat, and Sawyer Henderson as Jo Jo the young "Who-hero."

Director Tricia Stiller has done a marvelous job maneuvering this colossal cast of 62 about on Jeremy Stiller's very "Seuss-y" set.

Opal Virtue costumed all of the assorted birds, monkeys, Whos, and fishes and didn't rent a thing. "It was just between me and my imagination." Virtue has outdone herself. Her costumes are creative and jazzy. They make the whole production pop.

Seussical

Venue: Miller Park Bandstand, Bloomington

Times and dates: 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday and July 31 through Aug. 2

Cost: Free

Running time: 1 hr. 40 min., including 15-min. intermission