For 22 years, Arbor Theatre has celebrated the winter holiday season by presenting a theatrical adaptation of a classic fairy tale or a literary classic. This year, Arbor Theatre and Showplace Performance Centre are presenting The Jungle Book at 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 7th and Friday, December 8th.
The Jungle Book is a collection of stories written in 1894 by English author Rudyard Kipling. The collection has been adapted many times for theatre, television, and film, most famously by Disney as an animated film in 1967 and again as a live action film in 2017.
Arbor Theatre’s production, written by Arbor Theatre’s Artistic Director Ray Henderson and co-directed by Ray and Brianna Hill, is a humorous take the entire family can enjoy.
“This is a zany high-energy show with some big dance numbers and the usual Arbor twists on this classic tale,” Ray says. “There are some characters from the original book that weren’t in the movie, along with comedy that will appeal to all ages.”
The Arbor Theatre production features an original score by Beau Dixon and choreography by Lakefield College student Madison Sheward along with Rachel Froggot and Kate Bemrose. The show has a cast of 51 actors ranging in age from three to 70 years old, with Asha Hall-Smith in the role of Mowgli, Aidan Wilson as Baloo, and Dan Smith as Shere Khan.
At the Thursday evening show, a silent auction will be held before the performance and during intermission, with items donated by local businesses and organizations. Funds raised will go to support Arbor Theatre’s programs.
All performances have been supported through funding from the City of Peterborough, the Peterborough Foundation, the Pilkington-Henniger Charitable Trust, and the Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors, and $8 for children under 12 years old. Tickets are available in person at the Showplace box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by calling 705-742-7469, or online at www.showplace.org. Quantities of four or more tickets are available for $10 each (not available online).
In addition to the public performances on December 7th and 8th, some tickets are still available for performances for local schools taking place from December 5th to 8th at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily. The cost is $8 per student, and free for teachers and one parent chaperone for every seven kids ($8 for additional parent chaperones).
Bookings for school performances are available by calling 705-295-7046 or 705-741-8763 or by emailing arbortheatre@gmail.com.
