Dr. Seuss famously wrote, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” The line could easily stand in as a motto for the fun-loving crowd at First Friday. Downtown’s monthly arts festival/block party is a carefree hodgepodge of exhibits and performances, spanning high-brow, low-brow and every brow in between. One thing it hasn’t been, however—at least recently—is a showcase for dance and literature.

Enter choreographer Marko Westwood and his nascent Nevada Repertory Dance Theater. This Friday, in tribute to the Vegas Valley Book Festival, the troupe will perform a modern dance interpretation of Dr. Seuss kid-lit classics Green Eggs and Ham and Horton Hears a Hoo. Built around “structured improvisation movements” and featuring whimsical Savers-bought costumes, the performance will be something like The Wiggles meets So You Think You Can Dance? Westwood’s partnership with the book festival formed quickly and spontaneously. But despite the short time frame—fewer than five rehearsals—the choreographer has plunged headlong into the project, enthused about the chance to highlight his craft. To get audiences away from the Strip, Westwood says, “you have to slam it into people’s faces; you have to compete with all that money clinking into the casinos.”