MTI Acquires Rights to Pasek & Paul's JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, featuring a score by Tony-nominated songwriters Justin Paul and Benj Pasek and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald, has been acquired for licensing in the TYA, student and community theater markets by Music Theatre International (MTI). The musical is based on the beloved best-selling book of the same name by Roald Dahl.

"James and the Giant Peach has been an international cultural phenomenon since its first publication over 50 years ago. Just as Dahl firmly believed in never talking down to children, we've seen how this show's exploration of the true nature of family resonates with audiences of all ages. From the very first workshops, our customers have been asking when they can present James in their community. We are looking forward to seeing their productions come to fruition in imaginative ways," said MTI president Drew Cohen in a statement.

Licensing applications for Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach TYA are now being accepted here. Later this year a 60-minute version of the show will be available as part of MTI's Broadway Junior collection of musicals, featuring supplemental production and educational materials that make producing a show simple and meaningful. The two-act version of the show is expected to be made available for licensing in the fall of 2016.

"Roald Dahl was a consummate artist. We thought a lot about how to tell this amazingly fantastical, imaginative story in a way that would connect with audiences of all ages, just like his books do." says Pasek.

"At its heart, this is a story about how a young orphan becomes part of a new, wonderfully bizarre family. And the fact is we all have our 'found family;' they may be our blood, they may be people we met doing a production of James and the Giant Peach. It's been incredibly fulfilling to hear from audiences small and tall about how our show- featuring big singing anthropomorphized insects in a giant flying peach- touches on the very-real themes they are exploring in their own lives ," says Paul.

The highly-anticipated studio recording of the musical will be available to the public in April. The recording features Megan Hilty (Ladybug); Christian Borle (Grasshopper); Brian d'Arcy James (Centipede); Jackie Hoffman (Spiker); Mary Testa (Sponge); Luca Padovan (James); Marc Kudisch (Ladahlord); Daniel Breaker (Earthworm) and Sarah Stiles (Spider) performing songs in a wide range of musical styles: ranging from swing, vaudeville, gospel and scat.

"I still remember what it was like to be a dyslexic student who hated reading, and how all that changed the day my teacher handed me a copy of James and the Giant Peach," says McDonald. "As the first licensing house to create an educational musical theater division, MTI has since introduced hundreds of thousands of young people to the joys of musical theater. It's very meaningful to me that through this partnership so many people will be able to experience the very story which changed the course of my life in this new way." he adds.

The show is already taking root in the educational and community theater market. Two dozen Kansas students representing 14 high schools will offer the world premiere of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach (two-act version) at the 2016 Kansas Thespian Conference next January.

Students from Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School's BRAVO program premiered selections from Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach JR. at the 2015 Junior Theater Festival in January of this year.

Currently running at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach premiered at the Seattle Children's Theatre (SCT) in November, 2013 and was directed by SCT artistic director Linda Hartzell. The Seattle Times gave the Seattle production a 2013 "Best New Musical" Footlight award, BroadwayWorld called the show, "Magical Sweetness," and the Seattle Gay News named it, "a masterpeach!"

Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach was described as being in the "finest tradition of musical theatre" by BroadwayWorld during its sold-out performances at Bay Area Children's Theatre (Piedmont, CA/November, 2014). Hailed as "one sweet adventure" by The Tennessean, Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach was the second highest-attended live event in Nashville during its run at the Nashville Children's Theatre (November, 2014). The Vancouver Sun praised the show's "sweet message about family - the one we're born with and the one we make for ourselves" in its glowing review of the "charming" production at Carousel Children's Theatre for Young People (Vancouver, BC/November, 2014). Toronto's Young People's Theatre's "sparkling musical version of the Roald Dahl classic" was acclaimed as "theatre for young audiences as it should be: tasty and entertaining but with something to chew on as well" by the Toronto Star (November, 2014). An earlier incarnation of the musical enjoyed an extended workshop at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, CT.

Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach is based on the beloved book by Roald Dahl and tells the story of a young orphaned child who finds a loving family in a most peculiar way. Sent by his mean, conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, James discovers a magic potion which results in a tremendous peach occupied by some not-so-normal characters. From the center of the gigantic fruit, James and the unlikely crew launch a journey of enormous proportions. Together they discover that while we are all born into a family, we then go on to create a family of our own.

The Dahl family and the Dahl estate have been part of the show's transformation from the page to the stage. McDonald first collaborated with the Dahls when he and Leslie Bricusse were selected to adapt Charlie and the Chocolate Factory into a musical. The show premiered in 2004 at the Kennedy Center, enjoyed a two year U.S. tour and was performed at the White House.