CURTAIN CALL: GMC to present 'James and the Giant Peach' this week

“Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie. Who’s not ready? Holler 'I.' That’s a game we used to play. Hide and seek was its name.”

Well, things are starting to wind down for some of the musical/theatrical events around town. Georgia College is dealing with final exams and saying goodbye to the class of 2018.

But the Georgia Military College fine arts program still has a major production on tap for this very weekend.

Based on the clever lyrical intro, can you guess what it’s about? No … not apples. And it’s not exactly the right time of year for pumpkin pie (though some would argue there is no wrong time of the year for pumpkin pie).

That leaves … no, let’s not always see the same hands … PEACHES.

This Friday and Saturday evenings, the fine folks associated with the fine arts program at GMC will present “James and the Giant Peach.”

A popular children's novel, “James and the Giant Peach” was written in 1961 by British author Roald Dahl.

The plot centers on a young orphan boy who enters a gigantic, magical peach, and has a wild and surreal cross-world adventure with several magically-altered garden bugs he meets. They set off on a journey to escape from James' two mean and cruel aunts. 

According to legend, Dahl was originally going to write about a giant cherry, but changed it to James and the Giant Peach because a peach is "prettier, bigger and squishier than a cherry.”

Can’t argue with that kind of logic.

The GMC production is based on a stage adaptation by David Woods and is being directed by absolutely awesome Amy Zipperer.

Amy has assembled a large cast and has been working with them for several months to pull this play together and make it “just peachy.”  

Sorry about that.

The sets and costumes are worth the price of admission in themselves. But you will also be treated to some mighty fine performances.

The character of James Henry Trotter is played by M’ville Players alumnus Patrick Bohannon.  Patrick appeared in the MVP production of “Brigadoon” back in 2012, along with his father, Jim Bohannon.

Jim is in “The Giant Peach” as well, and his granddaughter, Hannah Garcia, also makes an appearance.

Kind of cool … three generations of Bohannons!

The two evil aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, are played by GMC junior college students Tiffany Hawkins and Abbey Warnock. Both of these talented young ladies appeared in the recent GMC/Milledgeville Players collaboration of “It’s a Wonderful Life: a Radio Play.”

Clay Howell, Isaiah Hensley, Faith Wealot and Kalli Broome are all GMC students making their GMC stage debuts in “James and the Giant Peach.”

And there are lots more. This play has as big a cast as a garden has magical insects.

The two performances start at 7 each evening in the Goldstein Center for the Performing Arts on the GMC campus.  

General admission tickets are $5 and will be available at the door. You can also purchase them in advance by going to bit.do/thegiantpeach. GMC students with a valid ID get in for free.

This will be a really fun play and is suitable for children and for any who are among the young at heart. If you don’t believe me, just ask the “fiddlin’ grasshopper.”

So come on over to the Goldstein Center this weekend for “James and the Giant Peach.”  Remember, it’s just two performances — Friday and Saturday, starting at 7 p.m.

“Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” was written in 1967 and performed by Jay and the Techniques in that same year. It reached number 6 on the Billboard charts. It was followed by the group’s only other top 20 hit, “Keep the Ball Rolling.”

Some people remember the song from 1967, but probably more became familiar with it in the 1980s when it became a staple on the “golden oldies” stations that proliferated during that decade.

“Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie.  Soon your love will be all mine. Then I’m gonna take you home, marry you so you won’t roam.”

Catch you on the flip side.

 

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