PPP Presents "James & The Giant Peach"

Possum Point Players' youth organization, the Possum Juniors, is preparing to present James and the Giant Peach by Richard George on July 22-26. George's play is based on the popular children's story of the same name by Roald Dahl.

Possum Juniors, or "PJs", do an annual, kid-friendly, summer production. All production decisions are made by the teens elected to lead the group. This year, the director of James and the Giant Peach is Peyton Lynch of Georgetown, who was the President of PJs during the past school year. Lynch graduated from Sussex Central this May, and will be majoring in theatre at Towson University in the fall.

The cast of James and the Giant Peach includes a cross-section of youth from across Sussex County. Miranda Arnold of Millsboro and Zach Hearn of Georgetown have been cast as James' parents, with Allie Buchanan playing Aunt Sponge and Lexi August of Rehoboth Beach playing Aunt Spiker. Devon Lynch of Georgetown, last seen on the Possum stage as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, will play James. The show is narrated by Shawn Peasnall, and Will Dorey of Millsboro plays the little old man. Of the animals in the peach, Scott Wallen was cast as Grasshopper, with Isabella Robinson of Ocean View as Silkworm, James Davis of Millsboro as Centipede, Sarah Overman of Georgetown as Spider, Taylor Kraus as Ladybug, Logan Lynch of Georgetown as Earthworm and Julie Hughes as Glowworm.

Also included are Annie Hudson of Millsboro as Captain, Hannah Powers of Georgetown, Carly Lucas and Lydia August of Rehoboth Beach as Officers, and Kit White of Frankford as the Chief of Police. Ryan Barwick of Lewes is playing the head of the fire department, with Daniel Keenan of Georgetown and Shane Lally of Lewes as firefighters. The cast is rounded out with the sharks and the reporters. Sharks will be Jake and Josh Hoffpauir of Lewes, Daniel Keenan, Shane Lalley and Tommy Moore of Laurel. Reporters will be Ari and Lydia August of Rehoboth Beach, Sydney Gross, Madeline Schneider and Brooke Sposato of Milton.

Additionally, Possum Point Players is still accepting registrations for their summer camps. The Drama Camp and Theater Academy are from 9am to 4pm. Drama Academy, for grades two through five runs July 27-31. Theater Academy, for grades five through ten, is August 10-14. The fee is $175.00. Please call the Possum office at 302/856-3460 for an application.

Performances of "James and the Giant Peach" will be held July 22, 23, 24 and 25 at 7:00 p.m., and on July 26 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 ($7 for Seniors or students) and may be reserved by calling the Possum ticketline at 302/856-4560. Possum Point Players is sponsored in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts. "James and the Giant Peach" is presented by special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing.