Sierra Stages to present James and the Giant Peach next summer for 10th season

“Our 10th Anniversary Season will include two amazing musicals – A New Brain (in March at the Nevada Theatre) and James and the Giant Peach (in July at the Nevada Theatre) and one play that we will be announcing shortly,” Sierra Stages said in a newsletter this morning. “We will let you know when our season schedule is firmed up and when our 2018 Sierra Stages Season Pass goes on sale.”

A “Masterpeach”

Roald Dahl’s first and most widely celebrated book for young people is also a musical. “The story of Roald Dahl’s classic tale is faithfully told by James himself and the insect characters – Miss Spider, Old-Green-Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybird, and Earthworm,” according to Samuel French Inc., which publishes plays and musicals. “The play begins at the end of the story, when James and his friends are living in the giant peach stone in Central Park, New York.

“A tour guide brings a party of tourists (the audience) to see this major attraction, and James and his friends tell the story of how they came to live in New York. The insects play the other roles, like James’s cruel Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, and the epic journey across the Atlantic is acted out with live action, puppetry and storytelling in David Wood’s masterful adaptation.”

James and the Giant Peach was a joint commission by the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff and the Birmingham Stage Company, for the 2001 Christmas season. The U.S. premiere was presented by the San Diego Junior Theatre in 2003. David Wood has been called “the national children’s dramatist (London Times).”

“In the meantime, we’re excited to offer another “A Play in the Day” children’s theatre workshop on Saturday, December 9,” Sierra Stages said. “The upcoming “A Play in the Day — Holiday Edition” workshop will feature a special play appropriate for the season. If you have kids, grandkids, nieces, or nephews from ages 7-15 who want to learn about live theatre and have fun at the same time, sign them up. Registration closes on December 2. For details, visit our website SierraStages.org.

(Photo: South Coast Repertory)