“A person’s a person no matter how small!”

So sings Horton the Elephant, the gentle hero of “Seussical The Musical,” which is being presented through a partnership of the Whidbey Children’s Theater and the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts Youth Conservatory July 27 through Aug. 5 at WICA.

Horton’s kind words are the general message behind the play, which seeks to move audiences of all ages with its positive message and focus on the world as a place to be cherished.

In this colorful and magical world populated by a bevy of favorite Dr. Seuss characters — including Yertle the Turtle, Gertrude McFuzz, Mayzie La Bird, the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch and his tiny Whos of Whoville — Horton is called upon to use his famous stubborn determination in order to protect his friends, no matter how much he is taunted, teased or tortured.

“After all of those years being stuck on a page, did you ever imagine you’d see me on stage?” So chimes in the mischievous Cat in the Hat who, during the course of the story, pops in and out of scenes, narrating and helping the younger members of the audience keep track of what’s going on.

Seussical does an excellent job of weaving together many of Dr. Seuss’ most famous stories and characters in unexpected ways, with Seuss’ wonderful words transformed into witty lyrics and set to a lively score by the Tony Award-winning team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

Director Martha Murphy said she was lucky to be able to put together a crack team for the musical with Jana Szabo as musical director, Suzanne Kelman as choreographer and Deana Duncan producing.

Duncan was surprised when she read the script.

“The inclination is to think it’s just silly and fun,” she said.

“But Seuss had a message that was about being true to yourself, living a good life and living your dream. It’s not just fluff,” she said.

“I think people will really love this play. It conveys the joyful message of Dr. Seuss, which is to envision a place where we take care of our world,” Murphy added.

In order to tackle the difficulty of bringing the stories to life on stage, Jill Johnson, a professional storyteller, was brought in to work with the cast.

“Enchant the audience!” Johnson called out to the actors one recent afternoon during rehearsals.

Johnson said there is a great depth to Seuss’ work that she wanted the children to find in their exploration of the play.

“I want to teach them how to tell a story so as to make it come alive on stage,” Johnson said. “I’ve told them they must find how to be ‘child-like’ rather than ‘childish.’”

“I’m very pleased with what they’ve done,” she added.

The WICA Youth Conservatory cast is made up of actors ages 7 to 17, some of whom are new to the Langley stage and some who will be familiar to local audiences.

Ensemble member Mykalla Vederoff said she leaves Seattle every summer to stay with her grandmother on the island just so she can attend the WICA Youth Conservatory.

“I’ve been at WICA every summer for seven years,” Mykalla said. “It’s really fun and I’m very excited.”

Audiences can be excited as well as “Seussical The Musical” will be a summer treat for the whole family.

The WICA Youth Conservatory cast features Emily Anderson, Christopher Anderson, Ethan Berkley, Cerys Bishop, Max Cole-Takanikos, Ethan Elwell, Katie Ewing, Nicole Fjelsted, Sommer Harris, Dinah Hassrick, Quinn Hassrick, Jack Hood, Kjersti Jorgenson, Amanda Lee, Patrick Lee, Emma Lungren, Ty Molbak, Eline Schaft, Nicholas Schneider, Zachary Schneider, Lily Simpson, Gracie Truex, Mykalla Vederoff, Kate Waters, Bailey Werner, Charlotte Whyte and Alyssa Woodbury.

“Seussical The Musical” plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday on July 27, 28, Aug. 3, 4 and at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 28 and Aug. 4 and Sunday, July 29 and Aug. 5.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for youth. For tickets call the WICA box office at 221-8268 or 800-638-7631 or visit www.WICAonline.com.