James and the Giant Peach is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald. It is based on the 1961 children's book of the same name by Roald Dahl.
After McDonald and Leslie Bricusse developed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory into a musical, using songs from the 1971 film adaptation, Dahl's widow Liccy granted the rights to develop James and the Giant Peach to McDonald. McDonald started assembling the creative team in 2005. Lynn Ahrens, Freddie Gershon, and Michael Kerker recommended the songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul in 2008. After an audition where Pasek and Paul wrote three potential songs in a week, including two that would be worked into the show ("On Your Way Home" and "Property of Spiker and Sponge"), McDonald hired the duo.
The show was first staged by Goodspeed Musicals. This production was in talks to go to Broadway following the run. However, due to mixed critical response, it was further developed by the team. It has been re-worked since then and in 2015, the new version became available for licensing through Music Theatre International and is a popular show in youth and regional theatre. A cast recording of this new version was released in 2015. Two other versions (a Theatre for Young Audiences version and a Junior version) are also available and are utilized commonly by children's theatres.
Synopsis
Act One
The curtain opens onto a stage that is empty except for a single ghost light as the overture comes to a close. Ladahlord, an unusual man, enters and welcomes the crowd to accompany him and watch a peculiar, genuine story unfurl. In "Right Before Your Eyes," he describes the adventure they are about to experience. The scene moves to James's bedroom at the Painswick Orphanage in London, England in 1959, where he sleeps with a scarf and glasses under his pillow. His parents were tragically killed by an escaped rhinoceros, so the scarf and glasses are all he has of them left. James recalls the tragedy in his dreams as he drifts off to sleep. He wakes up and clings to the scarf and glasses. A grasshopper and a ladybug (both puppets) enter; James calls them and promises not to hurt them. Since this is not the right place for them, James asks them to leave; He, on the other hand, has nowhere else to go, so he must remain. In "On Your Way Home", he wishes he could fly away with the ladybug and grasshopper to a warm and welcoming place where he belongs. James is informed that he is leaving the orphanage when the Matron Nurse comes in. It just so happens, he has two aunties residing in Dover - where James is initially from - who will take him in. James is told by the Matron Nurse that he cannot return to the orphanage, so he must follow their orders.
In Dover, we track down James' aunts, Spiker and Sponge on the footpath, picking pockets. They extol the virtues of the criminal profession they have chosen. Through charitable contributions to the police, they are able to continue their criminal activities without being caught. They receive a telegram from a passing Bobby-Cop informing them that James will be moving in with them. They are unsure of what to do with a child at first, but when they discover that they can make James their slave, they are overjoyed with their most recent purchase ("Property of Spiker and Sponge"). James is picked up at the train station by Spiker and Sponge. They promise the Matron Nurse that they will take good care of him, but they show him their true colors as soon as she leaves. James will live in the cellar when they take him home, which is a run-down cottage with an overgrown garden. The scarf and glasses, James's last remembrances of his parents, are then taken away by Spiker and Sponge, but James recovers them. His aunties let him know that the main explanation they have taken him in is so he can be their slave... furthermore, they then, at that point, immediately order him to chop down an old peach tree in the yard. A spider suddenly appears. Sponge eats it after Spiker kills it. James asks if they can go to the beach after seeing the seashore and his old friends from a distance. That's a great idea to Spiker and Sponge, but they go to the beach without James! In "Right before Your Eyes – Reprise 2," Ladahlord reminds the audience that a magic spell is about to happen. An earthworm and a centipede, both puppets, appear just as James is about to cut down the peach tree, despite feeling sorry for himself. The centipede pursues the worm, yet James mediates. James frightens the centipede. As James pursues the centipede, he collides with Ladahlord, who gives James an enchanted book with recipes for elixirs in it. In "Shake It Up," Ladahlord promises that if James chooses a spell from the book and consumes the potion, amazing and unbelievable things will occur. James selects crocodile tongues that slither as his spell. After James assists him with the spell, Ladahlord instructs him to consume the crocodile tongues by mixing them with water. He cautions James that whomever meets the crocodile tongues first will get the enchantment. James rushes to the well in search of water, but he trips and drops the bag's contents. The crocodile tongues pursue a grasshopper, a spider, a ladybug and a centipede.
When Spiker and Sponge return to the garden to find James, they are surprised to discover that the old peach tree has sprouted a peach, something that hasn't happened in years. The peach becomes increasingly larger. Sponge wants to eat it, yet Spiker won't let her... she realizes that individuals will pay cash to see such a peculiarity. Soon, journalists, Hollywood agents, and garden guild members arrive to see the magic peach. Spiker and Sponge realize that they won't do anything to earn a gazillion dollars. ("There's Money on That Tree"). Spiker and Sponge sign a number of contracts and receive substantial cash advances to use the peach in the future. James inquires if they can use the entire sum to relocate to the coast or travel. James points out that he was the one who made the peach grow, but Spiker and Sponge make it clear that they do not intend to include James in their wealth. His aunties call him a liar, taking and obliterating the last relics of his folks, at long last, letting him know that he should rest outside and insulting him that he can't take off, in light of the fact that he has no place else to go. James recognizes that he is stuck and needs to make a choice. He enters the peach ("Middle of a Moment") after spotting a door and leaving both his past and present behind.
Inside the peach, James experiences the bugs that ate the crocodile tongues. They are currently completely developed, human-sized animals that can talk. While Spider, Ladybug, Grasshopper, and Earthworm are more accepting, Centipede is wary of humans, including James. The peach suddenly moves forward. Its stem snaps from the tree, and it starts rolling ceaselessly, running over Spiker and Sponge. It travels through the village, across fields, and past a well-known chocolate factory (Our Adventure Begins!). James realizes that they are floating in the ocean when he comes out from the top of the peach. Grasshopper sings "Floatin' Along" to everyone, even though it's not clear where they are going (Ladybug thinks they're going to France). Earthworm and Centipede are less certain; they are concerned that they lack food and water and the peach is unsuitable for the sea. The group is on its way after Ladybug makes a sail for the peach with an additional pair of her bloomers.
Act Two
The journey has become more difficult after several days. James and the insect crew are dissatisfied, thirsty, and hungry because the bloomer sail has been ripped. They start chatting about what they're going to eat without any landmarks in sight. Centipede recommends that they eat James, yet Insect dismisses the thought. James whispers that he has an idea, but he doesn't think anyone will be interested in hearing it. He is reassured by Spider, so he suggests that they consume the peach, which will provide them with all the water and food they require. As they eat, Grasshopper fiddles a tune for them. James looks further into his bug partners, finding realities about them that he won't ever be aware... for instance, that Grasshopper's ears are on his stomach. James is encouraged to explore the world by Spider, who tells him that the world is full of strange and unfamiliar things ("Have You Even Begun to Wonder?").
James' aunts recover from being run over by the peach back in their garden. They are aware that, due to the fact that they have already taken the advance money, they will not be able to fulfill the contracts they have signed without the peach. In "A Getaway for Spiker and Sponge," they are advised to take the money and flee when they hear police sirens and helicopters overhead.
James has another bad dream while on the peach. James discovers how vile Spiker and Sponge really are when he and the insects start telling stories about them. They not only killed and ate Spider's fiance, but they also killed the entire family of Centipede, who were the best shoemakers in the land, until Spiker and Sponge fumigated them. Centipede disagrees with James' conclusion that Spiker and Sponge were truly awful: That is how all humans are, including James! Ladybug gets some information about his folks, and he lets his new companions know that his folks are no more. Ladybug clashes: "Everywhere That You Are" describes how James' parents are always by his side.
Ladahlord enters, camouflaged as a boat's watchman (" Right Before Your Eyes - Reprise 3"). He serves drinks to Spiker and Sponge, who are traveling by cruise ship in first class to New York City. Spiker and Sponge have just enough money to get to New York and resume their previous habit of stealing from Coney Island's boardwalk. Even though they have lost nearly everything, they still have each other (I Got You), and they lament that they have lost the peach when they were so close to having a fortune. Spiker and Sponge suddenly see the peach floating in the ocean from the ship's deck, and they demand that the ship "follow that peach!" On the peach, Centipede is feeling a piece nauseous. He vomits off the peach's side, which attracts a swarm of sharks. James and the insect crew are in serious danger when the sharks start eating the peach. A group of seagulls have also been attracted to the vomit from above. James has a great idea for everyone: they will attach themselves to the seagulls and fly away using the web of Spider as a rope. However, there is only one issue: how might they get the seagulls to fly to them so they can join the rope? James has a different plan. He promises that the then hesitant Earthworm will not be hurt as he persuades him to serve as bait. Earthworm calls the seagulls despite being dissatisfied with his work. As James' arrangement works, Earthworm turns out to be more sure about his job ("Plump and Juicy"). The peach will soon be in the air ("Right Before Your Eyes – Reprise 4").
Centipede is still convinced that James will turn against them, despite the fact that Earthworm is overjoyed with the outcomes of their most recent adventure. He suddenly slips and falls into the water as he clambers to the top of the peach and rails against James. While the other bugs impatiently wait to see if they will ever see either of them again, James enters to save him. James and Centipede reappear at long last. Centipede has lost all understanding regarding James; When this person put his own life in danger to save him, how can he believe that all humans are the same?