playbill vip

David Franklin

Director, James and the Giant Peach JR.

      In 1964, Ian Fleming published his 11th James Bond novel, and it contained not a single ninja. 

     However, when we see the 1967 film adaptation of You Only Live Twice, it is chalk full of ninjas; they help Bond defeat his evil scar-faced mastermind de jour. 

     We all learned in the 1980s that adding ninjas to your movie makes it entirely better, with no unwanted tonal side-effects at all. However, this was the 60s. Who was the visionary pioneer responsible for striking this rich vein of schlocky Americana?

     I am here to tell you that it was the same man who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Mr. Roald Dahl.

     Roald Dahl was a master of the children’s book genre. Having served as a fighter pilot during the horrors of World War II, his stories are full of challenging, subversive, and even disturbing material, all hidden within a whimsical, funny, and absurd candy shell. Where else can a child safely wrestle with the horrors of human-eating giants, implacably violent shape-shifting aliens, body-distorting chocolate factories, and — worst of all — foolish or malicious adults? When young people read Dahl’s stories, they see that personal responsibility and heroism are quite within their reach. In James, they learn that even the worst trauma can be met head-on with brains in your head, kindness in your heart, a little steel in your spine, and family around you. Ninjas need not apply.

     It is Dahl’s spirit of experimentation and play that has brought this particular production to fruition. I came in to this production challenging students to own their performances, to go beyond my direct instruction, to solve minor problems collaboratively, and to take silliness seriously. In the end, I am proud to say that this is not my show; it is the work of nearly thirty students who, when given a space where their choices matter, flourished in beautiful and unpredictable ways. What a remarkulous cast! 

Thank you for coming to watch us take flight.