Bite of Bowring
Family-friendly musical running at Bowring Park amphitheatre
Kids perform ‘James and the Giant Peach’ at outdoor amphitheatre
When British author Roald Dahl set out to write a new children’s novel in 1961, it was going to be about an orphan boy, his two cruel aunts and a gigantic, magical cherry. Dahl eventually abandoned the cherry for a peach, claiming it was prettier and squishier.
Best Kind Productions has taken a bit of liberty with their musical stage version of “James and the Giant Peach,” keeping the fruit, but representing it with a dome-shaped jungle gym.
“We’re approaching it in a conceptual way. The staging is based on a child’s imagination,” explains director Kyle Mcdavid.
The musical tells the story of James, orphaned and forced to live with a pair of mean aunties. When they send him to chop down their old fruit tree, he finds a magic potion that grows a huge peach the size of a house. He discovers a secret room inside the peach’s pit, where a collection of talking insects becomes his adventure companions.
Best Kind is presenting “James and the Giant Peach” as its fourth annual summer production at the Bowring Park amphitheatre featuring a cast of kids. Each year the theatre company produces an outdoor musical with a family-friendly message; this one was a perfect fit, Mcdavid says.
“It’s wacky and weird, but despite the crazy plot that involves humanoid invertebrates and rhinos, the underlying message shows the true meaning of home and family,” he says. “Even though his parents are gone, James discovers family can be whoever loves you.”
Casting a children’s show isn’t an easy task, Mcdavid says, particularly when it comes to having to gently turn children away (120 kids auditioned for the 40 roles in “James and the Giant Peach,” and Mcdavid and his team made sure to explain to them that there are many puzzle pieces involved in casting a show, and one day they’ll snag the role that’s perfect for them).
Ten-year-old Basile Vuillaume, a native of France, plays the role of James.
“He has worked incredibly hard this summer, and I’m so excited for him to finally get the glory,” Mcdavid says.
Thirteen-year-old Matilda Goldie (who says she is named after a queen, not the protagonist in Dahl’s novel “Matilda”), plays the role of Spider, who takes care of James on their journey. She’s also serving as stage manager for the production.
“I really like playing Spider, because she’s spunky and fun and upbeat and a bit ditzy, but she’s like a big brother to James,” explains Matilda, who first performed in Best Kind’s “Alice in Wonderland” as a 10-year-old. “The music (in ‘James and the Giant Peach’) is amazing and it’s so cool to see a show produced outside. I think there’s something fun in it for everyone.”
Once the show finishes its run, Best Kind and the cast plan to donate the peach — the climbing dome — to a school or organization that could use it.
With a score by Tony Award and Oscar-winning songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the composers behind Broadway’s “Dear Evan Hansen” and the Hollywood musical film “La La Land,” “James and the Giant Peach” opened Thursday evening and will run until Sunday at 6:30 p.m., with additional 2 p.m. matinées on Saturday and Sunday. It will run again Aug. 17-20 at the same times.
Tickets are $15 for regular admission and $10 for kids 12 and under at the door, cash only.