Northern Stage Summer Musical Theater Intensive Students Present JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach will be performed by Northern Stage Summer Musical Theater Intensive students at the Barrette Center for the Arts in White River Junction, VT, July 25-29. For tickets and information, call (802) 296-7000 or visit www.northernstage.org. Tickets are $19 for students and $25 for adults.

Northern Stage's Summer Musical Theater Intensive is a highly competitive, top-level training program designed to extend the professional rigor of the main stage series to young actors and give them the opportunity to push themselves and their abilities to the next level. The Summer Musical Theater Intensive began in 2015 with an outdoor production of 13, performed by 13 area youth on the Dartmouth College campus. The following year, Northern Stage partnered with Tuck's Rock Dojo to offer the sold out run of School of Rock in the recently opened Barrette Center for the Arts. Last year's The Drowsy Chaperone then brought the largest cast ever onto the Byrne Theater stage, with 40 area youth participating. Due to the growing popularity of the program, Northern Stage has now instituted an audition process, allowing each participant to have a more personalized and engaged experience.

Based on Roald Dahl's classic tale, this fantasy adventure follows James and his colorful family of magically overgrown insects as they journey aboard a gigantic peach across the Atlantic Ocean and all the way to New York City. The musical features a score by Tony and Academy Award-winning song writing duo Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land, A Christmas Story), while book writer Timothy Allen McDonald captures Roald Dahl's whimsical style and quirky dialogue. Northern Stage Producing Artistic Director Carol Dunne says of the production, "James and the Giant Peach is the perfect show to bring our amazing students together to learn teamwork and the power of theater to change the world. The titular James overcomes adversity by taking risks and using his imagination. Our Summer Intensive students will do just that with this show, and they are bound to create a production that is a total delight for all ages."

This production features area youth ages 10-18: James Bryan, William Bosco, Anna Caccavaro, Heike Chaney, Julia Cook, Tessa Francis Cullen, Macy DeMara, Judson Dunne, Ella Falcone, Meredith Felde, Margaret Finley, Samantha Gibbs, Caroline Hamilton, Lilly Kendall, Bebhinn Knudsen, Thomas Clay Kynor, Kyle Mason, Patrick McDevitt, Ian Nolon, Ty Nolon, Emma Neuman, Aidan Samwick, Sebastian Sangha, Alicia Sanyal, Roberto Silva-Neto, David Stark, Will Stedina, Charlotte Sturm, Olivia Swayze, and Maddy Trimpi. Northern Stage Director of Education Eric Love directs the musical, and says of the piece, "Rehearsing this show is a dream come true. When you take a fantastic story like James and the Giant Peach and add incredibly talented young actors from around the Upper Valley, you get an inventive, surprising, and magical musical."

In conjunction with the Summer Musical Theater Intensive, Northern Stage continues the Technical Apprentice Program (TAP), designed to train and inspire technical theater artists of the future. Students ages 14-18 train directly with Northern Stage professional staff in sets, props, scenic artistry, costumes, wardrobe, lighting, sound, and stage management. This summer's TAP students are Colin Furch, Alex Jones, Leara Lavertue, and Natalia Somoff.

The professional creative team, led by Eric Love, includes Ciara Heaps (Production Stage Manager), Jordan Janota (Scenic Designer), Thea LaCrosse (Assistant Director), Ben Montmagny (Sound Designer), Katharine Quinn (Choreographer), Alex Taylor (Lighting Designer), Emma Tichner (Associate Choreographer), Valerie Webster (Costume Designer), and Kevin White (Music Director). The live band includes Da-Shih Hu (Reeds), Joshua Pauly (Trumpet), Christopher Roberts (Drums), Mark Roux (Trombone), and Layla Wang (Assistant Music Director/Keys 2).

Schiffman, Dattilio & Company, P.C. sponsors performances. Tickets are $19 for students and $25 for adults. Access for All tickets (for EBT card holders) are available for any performance while ticket supplies last. A complimentary post-show reception with the cast follows the opening night performance on Friday, July 27.

Northern Stage (northernstage.org) is a regional non-profit LORT-D professional theater company with a mission to change lives, one story at a time. Located in White River Junction, VT, Northern Stage actively involves its audiences with ambitious productions and expansive educational programs in its new home, the Barrette Center for the Arts. Founded in 1997, the company has offered more than 120 high-quality professional productions of new works, classics, and musicals. The company is now in its 22nd Season and annual attendance is over 35,000. Five years ago, the company launched a new play festival that has cultivated four world premiere productions and two Off-Broadway transfers. We teach, nurture, and inspire all generations of theater artists and theater lovers. A robust educational program focuses on professional training in a nurturing and supportive environment for students ages 6 and up. Yearlong acting ensembles, by-audition summer musical theater productions, a regional theater in the schools program, a need-based mentorship and college preparatory program, and a Dartmouth College Experiential Learning Term (accredited by Actor's Equity) are hallmarks of the educational offerings.

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