‘Seussical’ star plays Cat with boundless energy

The fruits of the acting program at the Academy for the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School are on display a few miles away and impossible to overlook.

Brian Wessels, an incredibly energetic young man and a part of the academy program since the age of 10, has the plum role of The Cat in the Hat in the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse’s production of “Seussical, the Musical.”

Wessels plays the role as a mixture of the most outrageous moments of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey. He does everything but swing from the chandelier ? and he’d likely do that if the theater had one.

And his creativity doesn’t stop at the performing level. Reading his biography in the Costa Mesa program also is an exercise in imagination. This teenage actor would lead you to believe his previous “cat” credits include working as the voice of Top Cat in the 1970s animated feature and once replacing Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots in “Shrek 2: The Musical.”

He won’t need to pad his bio for much longer. After “Seussical,” local directors are going to be taking notice of this mercurial comic actor.

“Performing in ‘Seussical’ this past weekend was probably the most fun I’ve had on stage,” Wessels said. “[Director] John Blaylock filled me with such joy by providing me with the role of The Cat in the Hat, and I am most grateful.”

Tim Nelson, who has long directed Academy for the Performing Arts shows and moonlights at Tustin’s Curtain Call Dinner Theater, also was enthusiastic regarding Wessels’ talents.

“Brian has been a part of APA since he played a newsboy at age 10 in ‘Gypsy,’ Nelson said. “He has recorded for me at the Curtain Call and has been a wonderful student all year.

“In ‘Phantom,’ he was a pleasure to work with as Inspector Ledeoux. I look forward to many more performance experiences with this talented young man.”

Wessels’ role in “Seussical” gives him the opportunity to let it all hang out, character-wise. The structure of the show encourages overstatement, and the young actor seems to have written the book in that regard.

“I am drenched in sweat and at a loss of energy after every show,” he admitted, “but it’s all worthwhile.”