By Jackie Demaline
The Cincinnati Enquirer

You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.
You're on your own
And you know what you know.
And you are the one
Who'll decide where to go.

"Empowerment" is the word hidden inside the not-so-nonsensical rhymes of Dr. Seuss, and it's appropriately the theme of Seussical the Musical, at the Aronoff through Feb. 9 as part of Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati.

IF YOU GO

What: Seussical the Musical When: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, through Feb. 9. Where: Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center for the Arts Tickets: $20-$55. 241-7469.

"It's about trusting your instincts, and your abilities and not being afraid to dream," says its star and former gymnast Cathy Rigby. The first American to a medal in world gymnastics knows a thing or two about making dreams real.

She went on to forge a career as the star of touring Broadway musicals, most famously the revival of Peter Pan.

Now she's the Cat in the Hat in a musical tale drawn largely from the adventures of Horton the Elephant. The musical's action begins when the compassionate pachyderm hears a tiny sound and discovers the population of Whoville on a speck of dust and saves them from certain destruction.

Seussical, says mother of four Rigby, has lots of life lessons, many of them stemming from Horton, who also finds himself baby-sitting the egg of Mayzie LaBird.

"Horton thinks and looks differently. He's slow and fat, but he's also loyal and courageous."

Lives zigzag

That is not how you'd describe her character, the Cat in the Hat, a prime troublemaker in the life of Jojo, a kid who isn't appreciated for his creative thinking.

"Every time people get comfortable, the Cat throws a wrench in it," she laughs by phone.

"You have to let go," she says. "The Cat knows that. He's not always nice about it. There's a line toward the end that goes, `No happy ending in sight, Hey, Jojo, hold on tight!' This show is really a metaphor for all our lives."

She and her husband, Tom McCoy, were getting to be empty-nesters when she got the call from Broadway to take over the role.

"This role hit my life at exactly the right time," Rigby laughs again. While youngest daughter Katie is still at home and attending a performing arts high school, the older kids have moved on: one son is in business, another majoring in dance at Cal Arts, a daughter is the assistant company manager on the Jesus Christ Superstar tour.

"I'll always be a mom, I'll always worry, but they're gonna do what they do" and she's glad that the Cat in the Hat is reminding her of that nightly.

Roles `full of energy'

When she joined the cast, the Cat, which had been played by Rosie O'Donnell among others as a sort of comic narrator, became physical, with Rigby bouncing and tumbling up, down and around the stage.

"The roles I play are full of energy. Annie Oakley (Annie Get Your Gun), Molly Brown (The Unsinkable Molly Brown). I'm not a sedentary person. They're feisty characters. I like that. For one thing, it keeps me in shape."

Rigby has just turned 50 and "frankly I've gotten to a place where I love what I'm doing and I don't need to do anything else. I would love to do a new musical, but if I don't that's OK. Or I could just be in my garden. It's nice to be at that point."

Rigby will be Catting 'n' Hatting for a while yet, but her husband, who with her produces her musical tours, is eying 2004 and the Peter Pan centenary.

"I said `No way!' " she laughs. "Well, maybe. I'm not sure yet. We'll see."

E-mail jdemaline@enquirer.com