It’s no small feat to learn lines and songs for the stage, especially when you’re young and the story is well known to many of the parents who will be in the audience. For nearly one month, 60 local thespians between the ages of 7 and 15 years old have been practicing their roles, dedicating at least two hours per day for five days per week.
What’s the play that will be so familiar to families taking it all in? “James and the Giant Peach JR.” In the original book by Roald Dahl, a young boy loses his parents and is forced to live with his mean aunts. After a little magic helps grow a giant peach in the aunts’ yard, James finds himself on an adventure when he climbs into the peach and it rolls away.
In the musical adaptation local youth have been learning, the path forward includes interactions with hilarious characters like a grasshopper, earthworm and other giant insects. It also features plenty of challenges, as the crew crosses the ocean on the giant piece of fruit, facing hunger, sharks and plenty of disagreements.
Looking back, many of us likely only remember the fantastic tales from the classic, but with a different lens I can see the lessons it sought to impart.
Don’t judge people (or bugs) by appearance
While initially terrified, James befriends several giant insects living in the peach and travels across the world with them. Had he simply been afraid of the peach’s inhabitants, he would’ve missed out.
Sometimes you choose your family
After losing his parents, James finds himself living with mean aunts who treat him poorly. He dreams of friends and shaking off the loneliness he had endured. The bugs he befriends become the family he chooses and help him discover his strengths.
You can do hard things
James’ story features a lot of hardship, but it also shows the young man’s perseverance. He learns a lot about himself on his peachy adventure and grows more confident as the story progresses.
Creativity can take you far
In a musical filled with so many magical creatures and adventures, we learn that a little imagination can take you a long way – all the way to New York, in fact, and all the places in between. Each cast member in this production brings their own spark to the stage.
Many of the themes of “James and the Giant Peach” can be found throughout Dahl’s books, but “James and the Giant Peach JR” promises to deliver the whimsy, magic, quirkiness and fun so many of us remember.
The musical features a “wickedly tuneful score” that replicates the wit and humor of the original work by Dahl.
Join the cast of local youth, directed by Tyler Rogers with music direction by Stephanie Zukowski, for performances set for 7 p.m. June12-15. The show is sure to spark fond recollections of the classic children’s book for adults and create new memories of fun, adventure and perseverance fora whole new generation.
Grace Cannon is the director of WYO PLAY, an education initiative of the WYO Performing Arts and Education Center.
FOLLOW US
