The department of Theatre opened their production of James and the Giant Peach last week and will continue to present it and Feb. 15-17 at 7 p.m. in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis play would make for a great date night,\u201d actress Mattie Coy said. \u201cTruthfully though, our show will lift your spirits and make you laugh . . . It\u2019s weird, it\u2019s wacky . . . but the story we tell, about finding your true family, is one I think Christians can easily relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n
James and the Giant Peach is a classic children\u2019s book written by Roald Dahl in 1961, and transformed into a musical with its final version released in 2013, according to jatgp.com. The musical is about a young, orphaned boy named James, who brings the audience into his imaginary world, while trying to escape his neglected life with his wicked aunts. The theatre department\u2019s version is abstract compared to most productions that take things very literally, according to Coy.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur director, Robin Miller, has done a really neat thing with this production by putting the skeleton of an idea on stage, so your imagination can fill in the gaps,\u201d Coy said.<\/p>\n
To accurately portray the imaginative characters and objects, the cast and crew came up with creative ways to build the set. Technical director Seth Fish described his job as making sure the audience\u2019s eyes never wander.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spend all of my time making sure every board is painted, every piece of scenery is moving properly, and nothing that will take the audience\u2019s eye off the show is seen,\u201d Fish said.<\/p>\n
Senior Katherine Stinnett, spotlight operator for the show, explained that the story is very imaginative because they do not actually have a giant peach on stage, but instead use an umbrella as a representation. According to Stinnett, the department has not done a musical during the school year since before the current seniors were attending Harding. They have been intensely rehearsing since November.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the show will do well with college students because the imaginative things in the show are easily understood,\u201d Stinnett said. \u201cThe umbrella representing the peach, the bug friends coming to life, the funky and colorful set- it\u2019s all visually appealing, and its cleverness is easily understood and should be well received.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Coy, the most entertaining characters to watch in the show are the evil aunts. Coy said the aunts are played by two women who go above and beyond with their characters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited for people to see how unabashedly ridiculous we all are in this show,\u201d Coy said. \u201cThe story is really heartwarming, and people will definitely leave in a better mood than when they came in.\u201d<\/p>\n