"James and the Giant Peach" at Berkeley Playhouse

Berkeley Playhouse photo by Cheshiredave Creative

My daughter tells me that my knowledge of the collected works of Roald Dahl is woefully inadequate, mostly because I only ever read "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and the sequel about the elevator and then stopped. I was at least aware of "James and the Giant Peach," but never read it myself, either in my youth or to my daughter.

So I felt I was at a bit of a disadvantage going to see Berkeley Playhouse's mainstage production of the musical adaptation of James and the Giant Peach. I need not have worried, because it's not a terribly complicated story line. Maybe the book has more to it, but there's not a lot of substance to the book of this play.

The Play

In the grand tradition of British children's literature, the story starts with an orphaned child (the eponymous James) who gets sent to live with his only living relatives, two aunts named Spiker and Sponge. They are essentialy con artists and grifters who plan to exploit James as their house servant while they live it up on the £27 a month they will get for taking him in. In Dover (that's a plot point).

Meanwhile, James befriends some of the local insects, envying their freedom. And when tasked with chopping down the dismal old peach tree in the yard, he balks, saving the tree. Miraculously (or really, magically), an extremely large--one might even say giant--peach appears on the previously barren tree. Spiker and Sponge see this as a further opportunity to get some unearned income.

But the peach rolls away, down the hill and over the White Cliffs (see? Dover was a plot point) and into the English Channel. Taking with it James and some really large insects and bugs (Spider, Centipede, Ladybug, Earthworm, Glowworm, and Grasshopper). Peaches float, so they float across the ocean, learning important lessons about themselves and others and acceptance and choosing your real family and such. It's a bit treacly, even for children's fare, but that's the story.

All along, there is a magician who keeps popping in to do magic and sing a bit. His presence isn't explained until quite near the end. I found him a bit mystifying, though I guess the explanation at the end makes at least some sense.

But overall, best not to think too much about the plot and such. This is really just a bit of story holding together a lot of singing and dancing and bright colors. It's quite fun and crowd-pleasing. Just don't dig too deeply into the interpretations.

The Production

I've been consistently impressed with the shows I've seen at Berkeley Playhouse, with high-quality acting and music. The Julia Morgan Theater is lovely, of course, but a bit lacking as a modern theater facility. But this is not where we go looking for glitz and polish. This is more of a seat-of-the-pants operation that emphasizes the performances and not the refinement of the sets, lights, and sounds.

Even at that, however, I thought the production values on this show came up a little short. The set was obviously meant to be whimsical, but despite the bright colors it seemed a bit clunky and slow to move (with rather intrusive stage hands moving pieces), and the lighting just didn't reach some places and there were noticeable drop-outs in the sound a times that made it a bit hard to follow some of the dialogue.

But I can't be too critical here: The acting, singing, and dancing were all very good. Some of the performances were really quite excellent, starting with Elliot Choate as James. His singing is really quite strong, and he's only a fifth grader. The group of critters that James floats away with, particularly Christian Arteaga as Earthworm and Brian E. A. Miller as Grasshopper. Maya Sherer as Glowworm manages to be quite winsome, in contrast to her role at the start of the show as the Matron Nurse at the orphanage.

The over-the-top evil aunts (Heather Orth as Spiker and Matt Standley as Sponge) are quite the nasty pair, and often seem set to take over the whole show and chew up all the scenery as well, but director (and founding Artistic Director) Elizabeth McKoy keeps them sufficiently in check so they are merely amusing within the scope of the whole show. Because in contrast to their antics, the interactions of the sensitive insects and bugs could be quite overshadowed, but they manage to hold their own.

Bottom Line

This show definitely falls into the category of amusing pieces of fluff that you can safely take the whole family to see. It's a bit sentimental without being cloying, and wholesome but with a good sense of fun. So as long as you're not looking to think too hard, this could be the show for you. It's well done in a homey sort of way.

The show runs through May 6, so you still have plenty of chances to see it.