{"id":3799,"date":"2018-12-27T20:30:16","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T20:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theatreworldbackdrops.com\/blog\/?p=3799"},"modified":"2020-08-27T15:13:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T19:13:19","slug":"james-giant-peach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theatreworldbackdrops.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/3799\/james-giant-peach\/","title":{"rendered":"James and the Giant Peach – Going Beyond the Script"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Going Beyond the Script<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

James and the Giant Peach <\/a><\/em>Backdrops<\/a> and Scenery Perspectives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Written by: Melanie\nSimmons<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roald Dahl has been adding magic to childhood imaginations for decades; James and the Giant Peach<\/em> is no exception. Written in 1961 and adapted for film in 1996,  James and the Giant Peach<\/em> is one of Dahl’s most popular stories. Both book and film tell the enchanting tale of little orphan James and his magical adventure as he crosses the sea in a giant peach and finds his place in the world. Full of rich imagery, innocent wonder, and, of course, magic, this beloved story is a natural fit for Broadway, so it’s no wonder it was eventually adapted into a musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The musical version of James and the Giant Peach<\/em> features a book by Allen McDonald, who also successfully adapted Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em>, another Dahl favorite, for the stage. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote the music and lyrics. James <\/em>enjoyed its first staging at Goodspeed Musicals in 2010. Though it received mixed critical response at first, reworked versions – including a popular Junior version – have been delighting audiences ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get to know\nthis charming and family-friendly show, and take a look at how TheatreWorld\nmakes it easy to stage your very own production of this fantastical favorite! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Orphanage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our tale opens with a narrator figure, Ladahlord, setting the stage for our story (\u201cRight Before Your Eyes\u201d). We next meet James, who languishes in an orphanage after a terrible accident kills his parents. Lonely and traumatized, James pours his heart out to a ladybug and a grasshopper, the only creatures he feels he can confide in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider this Orphanage backdrop<\/a> for the opening scene. The drab colors and tired looking furniture give an air of neglect. Blues and grays convey a clinical coolness, while sparse metal bunk beds peak out from the side rooms. The gray, bleak windows suggest that there\u2019s no future for James out in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As fate would have\nit, James learns he has two aunts in Dover. This is not a good development,\nhowever, as they turn out to be nasty, mean old spinsters who only claimed\ntheir orphaned nephew so they could use him as a slave (\u201cProperty of Spiker and\nSponge\u201d). They throw him into the basement, and set him to menial tasks. One of\nthe first odious tasks they assign him is to cut down the old peach tree in\ntheir front yard – simply because Spiker walked into a spider web and decided\nto kill the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spiker and Sponge’s Home<\/h2>\n\n\n