Oscar Winner To Visit Westport Middle School

WESTPORT, CT — In a nod to Coleytown Middle School theatre teacher Ben Frimmer, former student and Oscar-winner Justin Paul has agreed to work with Coleytown Company students on their March production of "James and the Giant Peach."

Paul is one half of the Tony, Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy-winning Pasek and Paul song writing team, who are responsible for the music to recent mega hits "La La Land," "Dear Evan Hansen" and "The Greatest Showman." The duo also created the score for "James and the Giant Peach," based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name.

Paul will join Coleytown Company’s actors during their rehearsal on Friday to discuss his career and how Coleytown Company and Music Theatre of Connecticut sparked his passion, according to a release. He will also discuss his inspiration for the "James and the Giant Peach" score.

Paul and Frimmer, who is the Creative Director and Producer of Coleytown Company musical, will work with the young actors on their interpretation of the music and give them tips to create their best production yet.

A musical for the whole family to enjoy, James and the Giant Peach combines amazing songs with a creative story that children and adults alike will recognize as a favorite. Dahl's zany tale of a boy, his insect friends and their amazing journey across the ocean on a giant piece of fruit will delight all ages while sharing an important message of courage, self-discovery and the importance of family in any form.

“Roald Dahl is an author who really speaks to younger children. I think of this production as a gift to our community,” Frimmer said in a release. “There aren’t many musicals out there that are age-appropriate, popular, and have amazing music. This piece covers all three. 'James' is also an under-produced musical with lots of room for creativity. It’s nice to have the opportunity to create from scratch with other creative artists rather than being confined by conventions created by earlier productions.”

The story kicks off when James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree and discovers a magic potion that grows a tremendously large peach and launches a journey of enormous proportions. Suddenly, James finds himself in the center of the gigantic peach among human-sized insects with equally oversized personalities.

After the peach falls from the tree and rolls into the ocean, the group faces hunger, sharks and plenty of disagreements. Thanks to James' quick wit and creative thinking, the residents learn to live and work together as a family.

Their dangerous voyage is ultimately a success, but the adventure takes a whole new twist once they land on the Empire State Building.

Pasek and Paul were hired to create the music for "James and the Giant Peach" after an audition for which they wrote three potential songs in a week, including two that would be worked into the show ("On Your Way Home" and "Property of Spiker and Sponge").

As in past productions, Frimmer has assembled a high-caliber professional production team to work alongside the 71-student cast and crew, many with Broadway credits.

“At Coleytown, we continue our tradition of bringing in professionals to create an artistic environment for our students to learn within," Frimmer said. "One of the things that separates Coleytown Company from most middle and high school programs in this country is that we don’t simply copy a YouTube video of past productions. All of our production elements are unique to our show. Our professional design team is made up of individuals who regularly work on Broadway.”

Performances of "James and the Giant Peach" are set to take place at the Coleytown Middle School Auditorium (255 North Avenue, Westport) on:

• Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, March 24 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
• Sunday, March 25 at 1 p.m.

Tickets will be available online at showtix4u.com starting Wednesday, March 7. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door 45 minutes prior to the show but are subject to availability.

For further information about tickets, please contact Sarah Webster (swebster@westportps.org).

New and returning professionals working with Coleytown Company on "James and the Giant Peach" include Vocal Director Eli Newsom, who serves as the Producing Artistic Director of the Downtown Cabaret Main Stage Theatre, Associate Director Christy McIntosh-Newsom, who is the Associate Artistic Director at the Downtown Cabaret Theatre and a professional actress, and the new design team of Amy Price, a New York City-based associate costume designer who has worked on multiple Broadway productions, and Jordan Janota, a designer of theatrical and commercial events and an educator in Drama and Scenic Design.

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