Dr. Seuss Makes Japan Debut

From big Hollywood blockbusters to Big Macs, the Japanese have a big taste for things American. However, until last weekend, they had never seen the likes of one American classic. CBS News Correspondent Barry Petersen reports.

What happened was Dr. Seuss - an adaptation by the Children's Theatre Company from Minneapolis - about Bartholomew Cubbins, who keeps shedding his hat before the king because it's the law, only to have another magically appear in its place.

The tale is one that many American kids grew up with, and many Japanese kids were enjoying for the first time.

"I'd like them to go home feeling like us Americans, we can do great things and we can put on a great show," said Jamie Hersch, one of the Minnesota production's young actresses.

The young troupe came not just to share a bit of America, but to discover a bit about Japan.

They have come face to face with this culture, willing - even if not always able - to blend in.

"I decided to eat only Japanese food in Japan," said actor Andrew Bergee. That includes raw fish, which Bergee said he found to be "kind of fishy."

Throughout it all, the kids from Minnesota had one big worry: Would the audience get it? Would they enjoy the silliness that is Dr. Seuss?

They did.

"It's great," two young girls told CBS News.

"I like it," one boy said. "But how do they do the hats? he asked, referring to the onstage special effects.

Bartholomew's executioner spares him because it's against the rules to execute anyone wearing a hat. The actors who went to Japan to teach a part of America ended up learning an age-old lesson of the stage: Happy endings work in any language.

Reported by Barry Petersen