Bryant High School will present Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach Jr. at 2 p.m. Jan. 15 and at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 in Love Auditorium at the high school. Admission is $5 and may be paid at the door.
Jeremy Clay, drama instructor at Bryant High School, directs the local production. The play features words and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald. The play is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International.
“Roald Dahl always had a quirky sense of humor,” said Clay, who has been teaching drama and other related subjects for 18 years.
According to information on the website roalddahl.com, in addition to writing the book James and the Giant Peach, Dahl wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was adapted as the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The website www.mtishows.com states that McDonald adapted Dahl’s book to create the play Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach Jr.; McDonald also adapted Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a play, Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka.
“In this story, James [Trotter] is an orphan who befriends insects,” Clay said. “Each of the insects represents a part of him. We see his mom and dad (Mr. and Mrs. Trotter) represented by the characters Grasshopper and Ladybug. We see his anger represented by Centipede; his fears, by Earthworm; and his cleverness, by Spider.
“The character Ladahlord, who is the narrator, represents James as a grown-up,” Clay said.
Clay said the play is about courage and self-discovery. He said that when James’ “two awful aunts,” Spiker and Sponge, send him to chop down an old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that grows a huge peach, which rolls into the ocean. That’s when James befriends the insects, and they all ride the giant peach across the ocean, facing hunger, sharks and disagreements along the way.
Clay said the set for James and the Giant Peach Jr. is minimal.
“It’s just boxes,” he said, smiling, “just boxes … in different configurations.”
Clay said the “peach,” which is made of large yellow boxes, “is a magical object. It’s become the object of the news media; reporters and Hollywood agents want to know all about it. It’s the subject of the song ‘There’s Money on That Tree.’”
Clay said the 26 drama students producing the upcoming play are all juniors and seniors. In addition to the two public performances, the acting troupe will take the play to all of the elementary schools in the Bryant School District on Jan. 17 and 18.
“The kids in this class are very responsible. They are responsible for everything you see,” he said.
“This is an audition-only class,” said Clay, who has been at Bryant High School for the past four years. “The students have to audition to get into the class.”
In addition to teaching drama, Clay also teaches oral communications (speech), stagecraft and stage management.
“I’m hoping to add a theater dance course next year,” he said.
Clay has a degree in theater from the University of Arkansas and often appears in, or directs, productions by The Royal Players at The Royal Theatre in Benton.
Clay said the Bryant High School drama department presents three productions each year. The spring production will be Beauty and the Beast, which will be presented April 6-9. The fall production, which was presented in November, was Charley’s Aunt.
“A young lady plays James in this production,” Clay said. “A lot of the songs are very high, so I chose Mallory Sullivan to play the lead.”
Sullivan is a junior at Bryant High School.
“I had never even heard of this play,” she said, smiling. “It’s a good story. James is an orphan. Everything ends well for him in the end.
“This is the first time I’ve been in a production. It’s a lot of fun. I might consider [studying] theater in college.”
Other members of the cast of James and the Giant Peach Jr. include the following:
• Aaron Eley as Ladahlord;
• Kailee Morehart as Ladybug/Mrs. Trotter;
• Evan Atkinson as Grasshopper/Mr. Trotter;
• Rylee Bolls as Spider;
• Luke Wagner as Earthworm;
• Ben Adair as Centipede;
• Carlee Hutchins and
Ashley Cushing as James’ aunts, Spiker and Sponge;
• Madison Rye as the Matron Nurse;
• Taylor Embree and Jacob Loomis as Billy and Bobby Bobby-Cop;
• Michael Fuhrman as Karl Kreatour;
• Ryan Lynch and Hollan Pfautz as Rhino;
• Dejah Harris, Gabby Stewart, Jordan Loomis, Skye Paxton and Tori Black as members of the zoo crowd;
• Allie Studdard, Hannah Earls, Noah Bailey and Sarah Graham as the vagrants Doreen, Violet, Chris and Ridgley;
• Dejah Harris, Allie Studdard, Michael Fuhrman, Jacob Loomis and Julia Kovarovic as the reporters;
• Hannah Earls as Ida Walters;
• Gabby Stewart, Skye Paxton, Hollan Pfautz, Taylor Embree and Tori Black as the ladies;
• Ansley McDonald as Bitsy Botana;
• Jordan Loomis, Sarah Graham, Noah Bailey, Michael Fuhrman and Madison Rye as the Hollywood agents;
• Ryan Lynch as Buzz;
• Noah Bailey, Gabby Stewart,
Skye Paxton, Jordan Loomis, Tori Black and Julia Kovarovic as farm animals;
• Michael Fuhrman as Willy Wonka;
• Sarah Graham, Ansley McDonald, Hannah Earls, Hollan Pfautz and Madison Rye as the Oompa-Loompas;
• Taylor Embree, Jacob Loomis, Ryan Lynch, Gabby Stewart and Tori Black as members of the angry crowd;
• Allie Studdard, Noah Bailey,
Skye Paxton, Jordan Loomis, Ryan Lynch and Dejah Harris
as members of the cruise
ensemble;
• Julia Kovarovic, Jacob Loomis and Jordan Loomis as sharks;
• Hollan Pfautz, Gabby Stewart, Ansley McDonald and Hannah Earls as seagulls;
• Tori Black, Skye Paxton, Dejah Harris, Madison Rye and Julia Kovarovic as screaming women;
• Ryan Lynch and Michael Fuhrman as Jake and Joe;
• Allie Studdard as Lucille Van Vogelstein; and
• Sarah Graham as Bunny Mackenzie the Third.
All of the cast members appear as members of the garden chorus and as New Yorkers.
Choreography is by Hollan Pfautz, Gabby Stewart, Ryan Lynch and Madison Rye. The stage manager is Allie Studdard.