‘James and the Giant Peach’ a Big Adventure for a Young Cast

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Photo: Milwaukee Youth Theatre - Facebook

Milwaukee Youth Theatre - James and the Giant Peach

Milwaukee Youth Theatre - James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl’s 1961 children’s book James and the Giant Peach makes its way to an intimate staging this month with Milwaukee Youth Theatre. The surrealistic adventure finds its way to The Church in The City with a huge cast including 25 students from all over Milwaukee ranging in age from 8 to 15. A small army of kids from a variety of different schools are involved in every end of a production that dives into the heart of fantasy. It’s a very ambitious project for a tiny theater company that’s navigated its way through numerous productions over the course of the past three decades. 

The fantasy adventure involving a variety of different animals and insects would be a challenge for any small stage theater show. “MYT has never had the money that allows us to have fancy sets and props,” says Milwaukee Youth Theatre Executive Director Harmonie Baker. Budget wasn’t the only concern. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on MYT. Not everyone can come to the show. Rather than settle into a single location, James and the Giant Peach will be touring and bringing the show to its audiences. “We've been fortunate enough to be able to use third spaces like the Milwaukee MakersSpace in Bayview and our theatre space at LCA as well as the church space that we are renting,” says Baker.

For the show to work well on the road, scenery had to be kept portable. Props had to be kept to a minimum. Flat foam pieces render the image of illustrations coming directly off the page. Little rhinoceros, sharks and seagull puppets move across the performance space with the kids in the show.

The Magic Resonates

A good portion of the magic for the show will resonate from the cast itself. “Because of this we rely heavily on the imagination of our students and train them to project what they are seeing in the world of the play to the audience,” says Baker. As there are no student fees for cast and crew, MYT gives kids who may not have had any prior experience at all an opportunity to perform. Under ideal circumstances, this can result in some very inspired performances by little actors who are only beginning to develop a connection with the stage. They’re not just learning through performance. Kids involved in the show not only act, they are also involved in stage managing, costume construction, set painting, light and sound design and promotion.

“MYT has always encouraged students to participate in the production side of our shows, but I really want that to become a focus for us, so growing this part of the programming is really important to me,” says Baker. “We are a work in progress, and I am on the lookout for knowledgeable theater technicians who want to pass on their skills to the younger generation.”

Milwaukee Youth Theatre’s production of James and the Giant Peach runs April 22-24 at The Church in the City, 2648 N. Hackett Ave. For more information, visit milwaukeeyouththeatre.org.