BVHS thespians bring children's classic to the stage

By: 
Jamie Hult, Staff writer

Kianna Thelen narrates James and the Giant Peach, starring Braden Frey as James. Jamie Hult/BV Journal

Anthony Klinner and Kelsey Frost rehearse their roles as the mean Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge. Jamie Hult/BV Journal

hThe fantastic insects in the giant peach greet James during play practice at BVHS last week. Jamie Hult/BV Journal

With laugh-out-loud performances from the cast and a laugh-out-loud script based on the beloved Roald Dahl children’s book, Brandon Valley High School’s theatre program promises a peach of a fall production that will appeal to kids and adults alike.      
“We are finding out that when we tell people that we are doing James and the Giant Peach, the common response is one of nostalgia,” said director Melanie Sittig. “Most remember reading the book as a child and loving it. Even though the show is geared for a younger audience, we are confident that the older audience members will also enjoy the show.”
James and the Giant Peach begins in a giant peach before taking off to a variety of fantastic locations. Brian Hardie, the show’s technical director, said bringing Dahl’s fantastic world to life was a welcome challenge. 
“It flies, floats and rolls through the gate of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory,” Hardie said. “To manage this, we built backlit screens and are telling much of the story through shadow puppets and silhouettes. The shadows are meant to suggest the locations and enhance the storytelling done by the actors. The actors mostly set the scenery through pantomime and imagined reactions to the environments.”
James and the Giant Peach features several familiar faces from past BVHS productions. 
Kianna Thelen narrates the story of a young boy named James Henry Trotter (played by Braden Frey), whose parents (Ally Boerhave and George Kellogg) are eaten by a rhinoceros. The orphaned James goes into the care of the selfish Aunt Spiker (Anthony Klinner) and Aunt Sponge (Kelsey Frost), who routinely berate James for all manner of imagined wrongdoings. When James discovers a giant peach, it grows to the amazement of all in the town. 
In the giant peach James meets a myriad of eccentric characters: Grasshopper (Jonas Kulzer), Ladybug (Issy DeWitt), Centipede (Jimmy Hoffmann), Spider (Emily Hensley), Earthworm (Mack Johnson), Glowworm (Sierra Rima), and Silkworm (Hailey Pieper). 
Sittig said James was chosen to reach more youngsters and broaden the actors’ range. 
“As a directorial staff, we try to select different types of plays so students receive different types of acting experiences throughout their high school years. It has been a while since we did a true children’s show that focuses on an elementary audience,” she said. 
But that’s not all for the kids. On Saturday, Nov. 4, the cast and crew will host a Fall Garden Party for elementary students in the Brandon Valley High School commons. 
In keeping with the crew of bugs James befriends along his journey, the Fall Garden Party invites kids to sing, dance, create and have lots of buggy fun, with two event times to choose from: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2-4 p.m.
Tickets for the Fall Garden Party are $25 for one parent and child and includes free admission to the Saturday night show or the Sunday matinee. Additional Fall Garden Party tickets for immediate family members can be purchased for $5. The festivity is a fundraiser for the high school’s Theatre and Art Club trip to New York next summer. 
Tickets may be reserved by visiting the high school office. For more information, contact Sittig at melanie.sittig@k12.sd.us 
 

James and the Giant Peach

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2,  Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4; 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5

Where: Brandon Valley Performing Arts Center

Tickets: $5 adults, $3 kids

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The Brandon Valley Journal

 

The Brandon Valley Journal
1404 E. Cedar St.
Brandon, SD 57005
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