Review: THE JUNGLE BOOK at Grant County Community Theater

Broadway World went on a hunt for the bare necessities when we traveled to Sheridan to see The Grant County Theater’s presentation of THE JUNGLE BOOK Friday, May 10, but instead found all sorts of wild thespians taking the stage. Written by Joseph Robinette and based on the book by Rudyard Kipling, this play was not exactly like the Disney version, but it still had a lot of the familiar characters.  It was a packed house, and rightfully so. This theater grabs you when you walk into the door.  

This theater is very unassuming from the outside. If you haven’t been here yet, it looks like you may be going to a church or someone’s house. However, when you enter, it is bigger on the inside than what the outside would lead you to believe, and it smells good, because the popcorn is directly to your right. Also, they had the Sheridan Flashback Jazz Orchestra singing and playing before the show began, and they were killing it. I was thoroughly entertained, and the play hadn’t even started.  

The story begins with Kipling (Vinnie De Silva) as he finishes a writing assignment at school. Two bullies Fielding (Jackson Appleget) and Hanley (Grace McCoy) become Kipling’s muses for his bad guys Shere Khan and Tabaqui respectively. With the story flashing back and forth from real life and story life, The Jungle Book, which was never given this title during the story, unfolds with inspiration from his own life.  

Kipling turns into Mowgli (Eli Pitts - young Mowgli and De Silva - older Mowgli) and is raised by the wolves of the jungle. Shere Khan wants to eat Mowgli, but the law of the jungle states that if one is accepted by a pack, then they are protected. Akela (Wyatt Dowler) and Mother Wolf (Jeri Newberry) rally the wolf pack to keep the boy. Once Baloo (Tucker Dowler) and Bagherra (Alex Johnston) are on board to be Mowgli’s teachers, Shere Khan basically leaves the boy alone until one day Baloo and Bagherra leave him unattended for a moment.  

With the help of Kaa (Lauren Appleget), Shere Khan doesn’t harm him but decides to get the pack to turn against Akela. Mowgli decides to get the red flower from the village, meets his actual mom Maasua (Karen Goins) and a village girl Dari (Ella Parsons), goes back to defeat Shere Khan, and then decides to go live with humans for a while. In the end, Kipling wins an award for his short story and starts brainstorming about other jungle stories in which to write. 

Directed by  Karen Appleget, these actors kept the energy up and told a great story. There were a lot of younger actors in this play, which makes it easier to get a larger audience. These kids, however, really embraced their animal characters and had the audience laughing numerous times.  

De Silva was convincing as an immigrant trying to survive boarding school. He worked well with his foes, and you really wanted both of his characters to succeed. Appleget and McCoy were a great bad guy duo. They kept everyone on their toes. Appleget’s Shere Khan was sinister and McCoy’s Tabaqui was pesky but not quite as scary as Shere Khan. Good guy duo Dowler’s Baloo and Johnston’s Bagherra were also an entertaining duo. They made you smile every time they took the stage. I especially loved Tucker Dowler’s energy both as Baloo and as the front man for the jazz band. He is so much fun to watch.  

The costumes, makeup and set were fabulous. It was all very colorful and imaginative. Credit for the behind-the-scenes magic goes to: 

CREW 

Baylie Barker – Stage Manager, Costumes/Backstage 

Jeremy Barbre – Lights/Sound & Set Design 

Amanda Main - Backstage/Set Design 

Shelby James - Backstage 

Andrea Tripp - Backstage 

Shannon Harris - Prop Master/Backstage 

Gracie Harris - Backstage/Set Design 

Karren Appleget - Set Design 

Broadway World can’t wait to visit this wonderful group of storytellers. For more information or how you can join in on the fun, visit their website at https://www.gcctheater.org. 

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