The Jungle Book

On Thursday, May 11, James River students, faculty, staff, families, and friends were treated to wonderful performances of The Jungle Book. These sixty or so middle school students have been working since January to bring the story to life. They worked before school, after school, during club time, and any other time they could squeeze out. Students learned their music and lines. They created the choreography, costumes, and sets. Some were actors and singers. Some were stage hands and sound techs. It all came together into a terrific performance. There were quite a few surprises in the performance. Who knew we had such wonderful voices and actors among some of our shyer students? It's always fun to see a child branch out in a new direction and really step out of the usual comfort zone. Congratulations to all the students who worked on this fabulous production. Many thanks go to Mrs. Paddy Braunstein for her able direction, patience, and perseverance, and thanks also to Mrs. Kasey Forehand for her creative talents and assistance to those working to build costumes and sets, and for creating the make-up designs.

 

We'll always remember how six young women came together to sinuously and beautifully portray Kaa, the snake, and how the jungle shook beneath the marching feet of the elephants (thanks to the jungle ensemble and the elephants). King Louie and his lively band of miscreant monkeys were a delight. Never thought to hear middle school kids scat singing, but Louie and Baloo pulled it off!

 

Shere Khan's menacing portrayal was spot on. We laughed when he was bested by all of Mowgli's jungle friends, turning Shere Khan from villain to kitten. Noble Bagheera and innocent Shanti each helped guide Mowgli back to the "man village" where he could live among humans without having to leave his friends entirely. The singing by the entire ensemble was quite wonderful. All the hard work truly paid off!

 

As Mrs. Berkley, the school's band and orchestra director observed, "Congrats to Paddy, Kasey, and all of the students for their great work today! It is not easy to put together a full production when you have such limited time, and the students did a great job on stage [and off]. Well cast and well designed. Bravo!"