Sheep shearing
STRATFORD ECOLOGICAL CENTER, 3083 LIBERTY ROAD, DELAWARE 740-363-2548, stratfordecologicalcenter.org Watch workers shear sheep and llamas at the farm’s first-ever public sheepshearing day. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday $5 per family
Since they wrote the music and lyrics for “James and the Giant Peach,” Benj Pasek and Justin Paul have gone on to bigger things — but, in their eyes, not necessarily better things.
In February, the songwriting duo won an Academy Award for best original song for creating the music to “City of Stars,” a song in the film “La La Land.”
In their acceptance speeches, both mentioned the importance of their early involvement in the arts.
Pasek, 31, said his award “is dedicated to all the kids who sing in the rain and all the moms who let them.”
Paul, 32, said he was educated in public schools “where arts and culture were valued and recognized and resourced.”
So it should not be a surprise that both men were eager last week to talk about “James and the Giant Peach.” The full version of the show, produced by Columbus Children’s Theatre, will open tonight at the Lincoln Theatre.
In October, CATCO Is Kids produced the “junior,” oneact version of the musical.
Producing material for children, Pasek said, “is really extraordinary because we have our own memories of shows that sparked our love of the arts, and those are shows you remember the rest of your life.”
Based on the Roald Dahl book and adapted for the stage by Timothy Allen McDonald, “James and the Giant Peach” follows a young boy who is orphaned and falls under a magic spell.
Searching for a place to call home, he travels across the sea in a giant peach, accompanied by a menagerie of life-size talking insects.
Pasek and Paul began working on the music in 2008, and the show was first staged in 2010. But the duo then did a major rewrite, making it much more childfriendly, and that version made its debut in 2013.
The version now includes a variety of musical genres, including Latin, funk, rock and show tunes.
“When we pivoted to make it a show for young audiences, that really unlocked the key for us, and we had more fun with it,” Paul said. “Because the story is so fantastical, we felt we had permission to run the gamut of musical styles.”
Ryan Scarlata, associate artistic director of Columbus Children’s Theatre, is directing the production.
When looking for a good musical, he said, “You have to have something that sticks in your head when you leave, at least one song you have in your head.”
For Scarlata, that song in “James and the Giant Peach” is “Floating Along,” which closes the first act.
Despite their rising fame, Pasek said that daily life has not changed much for the two.
“We’re just focused on writing the next show,” he said. “Most days are spent the same way they were spent three months ago or six years ago, sitting up in a room banging our heads against the wall, figuring out the next lyric.”