Interview: Tommy Jamerson of THE JUNGLE BOOK at Columbia Theatre For The Performing Arts

Tommy Jamerson is no stranger to putting his spin on beloved children's stories. From Alice in Wonderland to Pinocchio to Hercules, he's captured well-known stories that make us remember why we fell in love with them. Now, he's done the same magic with Rudyard Kipling's famous story in his latest play, THE JUNGLE BOOK.

THE JUNGLE BOOK's first production was recently performed in Hammond, LA, at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, where Jamerson was named their resident playwright. The story tells the familiar tale of Mowgli, whose parents were killed at the claws of Shere Khan. Raised by wolves, Mowgli befriends several animals who live in the jungle, but when Shere Khan returns, he has to decide whether to return to the man village or save his friends.

BroadwayWorld.com sat down with Jamerson to discuss the script, his writing process, and a surprising breakout character.

BroadwayWorld.com: What were the first inklings you knew you wanted to write THE JUNGLE BOOK?

Jamerson: In 2015, Jim Winter and I had just finished working on a show, and he approached me to do another one. The Jungle Book was my favorite when I was little, my bedroom was jungle-themed, and I had a stuffed Shere Khan; I loved it. So, I always wanted to do it, and I always try to be transparent, but I have issues with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a severe case, and I had a really bad flare-up at the time.

Writing, in general, was hard for me. I was constantly obsessing about my word choice or how I was articulating a thought and if there was a better way to do it. I was not emotionally in a place where I could do the show, which broke my heart because I'd never pulled out of a show before. Jim was amazing and kind and told me to focus on my health first and get back to where I needed to be. Years passed, and thankfully due to therapy and a lot of love, I was able to get back to where I was.

That was the show that got away and the one I always wanted to do. It was sacred to me. And so, when Jim called me last December and told me they were going to do a show on the big stage at the Columbia, he said, 'let's think of something that my designers can sink their teeth into.' I brought it up and was terrified to do so, and he said, 'well, I know last time that was hard; what do you think?' It was slow going at first; I was protective of it. Then I became the Columbia's resident playwright, and I realized THE JUNGLE BOOK was going to be the kickoff, so it was like this magical moment for this show that I thought may not happen.

BWW: How do you feel now that the show has been mounted?

Jamerson: There's a sense of both joy and sadness. I feel like a chapter has turned and is now on to the next one. THE JUNGLE BOOK has a couple of things that are coming up I haven't announced yet. It is going to be going to publishing soon; there's a licensing house that's going to pick it up. And there's also going to be a one-act version of it for competitions and for touring. A couple of other places will perform it while I tweak, rework, and play just a bit here and there. While I am brokenhearted that its time at the Columbia is done, I am excited about what's on the horizon and how it's going to change before it's in its final form and sold all over.

BWW: I was curious if you were going to rework anything. In previous productions, you've edited some things after first runs. Is that another step in the process with THE JUNGLE BOOK?

Jamerson: Unfortunately, a lot of theatre companies around the globe can't afford larger budgets, or they don't have the sound systems or the costumes like that of the Columbia, so I think my biggest challenge is going to be telling the same story, same way, but figuring out a way to scale it back or at least make it more accessible to theatres all over the world; whether they have a $100 budget or $5000 budget. There will be a couple of tweaks and things. I will say, and I don't normally say this, because there were so many rewrites happening throughout the entire writing process, I think it's a representation of what I wanted to write.

BWW: Let's go into the script. You were more inspired by the story by Rudyard Kipling rather than the Disney story that people are familiar with.

Jamerson: As much as I love and respect the live-action and animated classic, I wanted to steer away from that and make it my own. The language in the Kipling books is so beautiful. And the poetry, you can't extract that from the story. It's tethered to it. And we wanted to musicalize and dramatically present those poems in a way that helped tell the tale of Mowgli and respect the origins of these characters. I read both The Jungle Book and the second Jungle Book a million times and was able to pick and choose the Mowgli stories that I wanted to incorporate. It was great getting to do something a little unexpected, and the main compliment we got was that when people went to see THE JUNGLE BOOK, they were expecting one thing and got something completely different yet familiar. They loved being surprised. It wasn't a paint-by-numbers retelling.

BWW: One of my favorite things about your JUNGLE BOOK is that it's a similar ending but a different conclusion from the Disney film. Jungle Book is very near and dear to my heart, but I was always unsatisfied with him going off to live in the village and leaving the jungle behind as I found it almost problematic by saying that you have to be with your own kind.

Jamerson: It is. And the fact that the whole reason that he had to go was danger. Well, Shere Khan was then vanquished, so why does he need to go now? The tiger's gone. And he's been raised in the jungle, he loves it there. While reading Kipling, I loved the stories of him in the village and thought, 'this could be a whole play or movie by itself.' This character acclimating to these surroundings was so fascinating. I fell in love with the village in the text and wanted to figure out a way to incorporate it into the play and make it positive. He is a child of two worlds, and it should be honored.

BWW: We've all heard the phrase, 'home is where the heart is,' and that rang especially true in this script.

Jamerson: Thank you.

BWW: Another high point for me was Kaa's development, who had a meatier role in this story.

Jamerson: I'm not a fan of snakes. They serve their purpose and can be beautiful; I don't want them near me; it's just a phobia. Reading the books, Kaa saves Mowgli's life so many times. Kaa is pretty cool, and there's a lot of amazing stuff with him. There are expectations that the python has to be scary, it's not the cuddliest, but at the same time, he's not a villain. He's hungry, but he's not without reason, so it was fun to play with that character's expectations and sort of work through my fears of snakes and make this creature more of an anti-hero.

BWW: What's coming up next, specifically regarding being the resident playwright of the Columbia?

Jamerson: I will be at the Columbia during the summertime. They're doing two weeks with camps for young performers, and I'm going to be there for the second week, and I'm going to write something small for the actors to perform.

BWW: Is there anything else you'd like to say about THE JUNGLE BOOK?

Jameson: It's been a joy; I'm excited about the future and feel so honored that the Columbia gave me their stage and talent to mount and perform it.

Critic's Note: This author notes she has previously been involved in productions of Tommy Jamerson's work as an actor/designer.

Photo Credit: Corey Saltaformaggio

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