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REVIEWS
Favorite children's tale is peachy in SAU's hands
By Ruby Nancy,
"The
Quad City Times"
The St. Ambrose
University theater department's presentation that plays this week is a
world premiere of this brand new musical based on the popular British
children's story, James and the Giant Peach.
It's basically the same tale as
the wonderful Claymation-style film that charmed many people on the big
screen and on video, but this is a short and spiffy children's musical
based on the book by Roald Dahl, with music by Aaron Randolph and lyrics
by Randolph and Corinne Johnson.
And if some of those names sound
familiar, there's a good reason. Randolph, also the musical director, is
from Marion, Iowa, and is a junior and music major at St. Ambrose.
Johnson, who directs this premiere, is on the SAU faculty and is a local
actor you may know from television commercials. What they have in this
production is a winsome little show that spans a wide range of musical
styles, from opera and rock to country-western and hip-hop.
And the performances in
James--the fantasy story about a little orphan boy, a magical peach,
and a group of talking bugs--are as much fun as the music, too. Nick
Bowers plays a major role as the Narrator, and his energetic delivery of
lines and lyrics keeps the story moving right along. He's charismatic
and friendly--handling much of the audience interaction with a breezy
smile that lends a sparkle to this tale.
John Bowser is James, the timid
little boy, and (at least for a full-sized college student) he manages
to look small and frail enough to play the little guy. His efforts are
helped tremendously by the women who play his overbearing aunts, because
they certainly could make anyone a bit timid. Heather Starns is Aunt
Sponge, who seems to think she's some kind of opera diva, and Stephanie
Massick is Aunt Spiker, who seems equally convinced she's the lead
singer in a rock-and-roll band.
Starns is hilariously operatic as
Sponge, given to fits of self-love and shrieking, and she has the fun of
wearing a huge wig and an even bigger hat with shockingly green plumes
-- which just happen to be curved in the right direction to resemble the
horns on a Scandinavian battle helmet.
Massick is also quite funny, with Spiker's bad-girl-rock attitude and
biker-flavored braggadocio.
All the insects (and the arachnid)
are funny, and they work together well--especially on some of the dance
numbers, which are nice bits of ensemble work. Dominic Ramirez is funny
as the nearsighted Earthworm, and his suggestive walk and costume
provide a bit of oblique humor for the adults in the audience that the
kids won't get (although they will think the way he walks is hilarious,
too, so you won't have to explain why you're laughing).
Beth Curley is funny as the Glow
Worm, and she handles her part with bright panache. Her accent is
particularly excellent--far and away the most successful of any cast
member--but the otherwise sometimes-decent, sometimes-woeful accents are
the only miss in this show. They don't keep the story from moving
merrily along, though, and most kids aren't really likely to care.
Ted Stephens is really the
standout bug, though. He plays Centipede, the self-appointed leader of
the bug clan. His strutting bravado and brash self-interest is as funny
as it is cheeky, and he has several musical numbers that show off his
attitude as well as his voice and dancing. In fact, Stephens manages to
make a centipede a pretty sexy thing to be (which is another plus for
some adult audience members), and--ranked for sheer, full-force,
energetic delivery--his numbers are the best in the show.
The wonderful costumes by Brian
Hemesath are also a great asset to this show, full of magical color and
inventive design, and they help tremendously in the transformation of
human actors into the many creatures they become in this musical. The
other technical staff do some pretty neat stuff, too, including showing
the audience a peach that grows to nearly fill the stage and proving
some fantastic sound effects that are perfectly done.
This premiere of
James and the
Giant Peach is a smashing bit of fun. And at just under an hour, the
length is right for the younger set, who are sure to enjoy it. Make a
kid you know happy with this show.
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