We are Roald Dahl junkies in our family, devouring even his lesser-known works in print and audiobook. It was with some trepidation, then, that we approached the Seattle Children's Theatre musical production of James and the Giant Peach. Would it do the classic justice?
Happily, the answer is yes.
The jazzy musical starts with James in the orphanage. In a dream he relives his mom and dad being trampled by a rhino that has escaped from the zoo. Some little kids might find the big rhino puppet a bit frightening; the show is recommended for ages 6 and older.
James is claimed from the orphanage by a pair of aunts he's never met before – the deliciously dreadful Spiker and Sponge, played to the horrible hilt in this show. My 8-year-old son was entranced by their fabulous wicker motorcycle and sidecar. ("How does it work, mom?" he kept asking.) Our having read the story before didn't take away my son's enjoyment at all. If anything, it made it more fun, letting him predict some of the action. He snickered freely throughout. Song lyrics and the live music were great.
Spiker and Sponge treat James like a slave and call him "maggot." A dejected James is sent to cut down their old fruit tree (the aunts object to all creepy crawly things) and observes many insects frolicking (insects he meets as small puppets held by actors). The orphan boy meets a strange old man who gives him a bag of magic in the form of crocodile tongues (projected onto the stage as writhing green lights), which he hopes will provide his salvation from his miserable aunts. James mistakenly drops the magic potion, which results in a tremendous peach – and launches a great journey.
The stage magic is very clever. James enters the giant peach, which takes up much of the stage, like an aerialist, pulling himself up a rope behind a sheer scrim. Once inside the peach, the scrim disappears and James meets his new insect friends – now played by human actors in fantastic insect costumes. When they nibble through the peach's stem to escape Spiker and Sponge, an oversized panoramic box on the side of the stage shows the peach rolling across the landscape (in a bit of insider Dahl humor, it bounces onto the Willy Wonka factory as a cry of oompa-loompa protest rises up).
Adult and kid humor abound: James realizes he isn't the only one to lose parents, as the cantankerous centipede recalls his parents being fumigated in the "great raid of '59." (Get it?) The actors – whose faces are uncovered – do a great job giving each insect its own individual personality.
My favorite musical number features Spiker and Sponge professing their attachment to one another, singing "You are just the right wrong-doer." Lots of kid laughs came when the nervous-nilly earthworm has to brave up and do a salsa dance advertising his "plump and juicy" qualities to lure the seagulls that will eventually haul the giant peach skyward out of the shark-infested waters (again, projections are used on the stage floor to great effect).
Enduring hardship and learning to work together as they cross the ocean, the insects and James form their own family. The traveling posse winds up in New York City, the giant peach speared on the spike of the Empire State Building. Just when it seems the group might be captured by Spiker and Sponge, big glops of peach rain down on the evil aunts and bring their demise. In the end, James and his insect family decide to create a cozy home inside the peach's pit and homestead in Central Park.
The two-hour show has one 15-minute intermission. It's best to pre-order goodies at the snack bar, which has $3 Rae's bakery cookies and $2 candy and snacks, including regular and chocolate milk.
IF YOU GO
Where: Seattle Children’s Theatre, 201 Thomas St, Seattle.
When: Now through Jan. 12. Most Fridays 7 p.m., Saturdays 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., Sundays 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Thursday showtimes on Dec. 19, 26 and Jan. 2.
Cost: Adults $20-$36, children $20-$29.
Contact: 206-441-3322; www.sct.org.
Lynn Schnaiberg is author of Outside magazine’s Urban Adventure Chicago and has written for many national publications.
