![CDC Theatre Presents "James and the Giant Peach, the Musical"](https://www.newjerseystage.com/events2016/James-Nov16.jpg "CDC Theatre Presents "James and the Giant Peach, the Musical"")
(CRANFORD, NJ) -- Looking for some wonderful live theatre and a fun family outing? CDC Theatre in Cranford, New Jersey’s oldest, continuously operating, community theatre, has just the thing! James and the Giant Peach, The Musical runs December 9th through the 11th at the theatre’s home at 78 Winans Ave. in Cranford.
Based on the book James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and featuring a wickedly tuneful score by the Tony Award-nominated team of Pasek and Paul (Dogfight and A Christmas Story the Musical) and a curiously quirky book by Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, The Musical Adventures Of Flat Stanley), critics rave that James And The Giant Peach is a "masterpeach!"
The show is directed by Matthew Muccigrossi, a director new to CDC Theatre. “Roald Dahl’s book James and the Giant Peach has always been a favorite of mine and I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to stage this production at CDC. The new musical version of the classic tale features a rich contemporary score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul who wrote the scores for A Christmas Story and Dear Evan Hansen (opening on Broadway this month). The show contains both energetic dance numbers along with some beautiful, lush ballads.”
Muccigrossi gave some hints about the show: “The staging of this particular version is simplistic and imaginative as the actors use a series of puppets and everyday household props to bring to life the magical story and the colorful characters that inhibit Dahl’s twisted world. It’s an adventure that all ages will enjoy and provides a wonderful lesson as James and his friends define what it means to be a family.”
Roald Dahl's fantastical tale of a boy, his insect friends, and their amazing journey across the ocean on a giant peach of fruit is a musical for the whole family to enjoy! When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion which results in a tremendous peach - and launches a journey of enormous proportions. Suddenly, James finds himself in the center of the gigantic peach among human-sized insects with equally oversized personalities. After the peach falls from the tree and rolls into the ocean, the group faces hunger, sharks and plenty of disagreements. Thanks to James' quick wit and creative thinking, the residents learn to live and work together as a family. The dangerous voyage is a success, but the adventure takes a whole new twist once they land on the Empire State Building.
Additional information and tickets can be found by visiting www.cdctheatre.org. Funding has been made possible in part by the NJ State Council on the Arts, Dept. of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs.
Home Towns of Local cast members: Arlene Britt- Edison; Melody Lieberman – Parsippany; Zach Love – Cranford; Rachel Valovcin - Metuchen; Mark Piltz – S. Plainfield; Justin Luckenbaugh – Somerset; Adena Weisholtz – Scotch Plains.
PHOTO: Some of the cast of James and the Giant Peach(l-r): Arlene Britt, Mark Piltz, Melody Lieberman, Zach Love, Mallory Ann, Rachel Valovcin, Justin Luckenbaugh, Adena Weisholtz
