Biography

Roald Dahl

A Junior Theatre favorite, Roald Dahl (1916-1990) is the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and many more of the world’s best-loved children’s stories. He remains one of the world’s greatest storytellers and is celebrated annually by the world’s biggest author-based event, Roald Dahl Day – which is recognized across the globe on 13th September.

His first children’s story, James and the Giant Peach, published in 1961 and was a huge hit. Every subsequent book became a best-seller.

Today, his stories are available in 59 languages and, by a conservative estimate, he has sold more than 250 million books. Many of these stories have also been adapted for stage and screen, including the 1971 film classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wes Anderson’s acclaimed Fantastic Mr. Fox, and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s multi-award winning production of Matilda, the Musical.

Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach

Directed by Elissa Russell
Music Direction by Kailee Ash-Ray

Words and Music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Book by Timothy Allen McDonald
Based on the book James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that 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 it 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 peach 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.