BROOKINGS — South Dakota State University Theatre and Dance will bring a popular children’s story to life with its production of “James and the Giant Peach.”

Performance dates and times are April 18-20 at 7:30 p.m. and April 21 at 2 p.m. at the Oscar Larson Theatre in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center on campus.

In this delightful stage adaptation of the classic children’s tale, Roald Dahl’s “James and the Giant Peach” is told by James himself, along with insect characters — Miss Spider, Old Green Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybird and Earthworm. Children and adults alike will smile with delight as James and his friends tell the story of how they came to live in the giant peach stone in Central Park, New York.

Tickets are $22 for adults and $20 for seniors, military, SDSU employees and children ages 13-18. Children under 12 are $7, and SDSU students are free with student ID. Tickets can be purchased anytime online at https://sdstate.evenue.net, or call 605-688-6045. The Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center box office will open for in-person sales one week prior to the opening performance.

Members of the cast include Gerrit VonEye, Barbara Gonzalez, Morgan Foote, Nick Forster, Sydney Meissner, Grant Taylor, El Stucker, Alex Strawn, Hannah Hetland, Zach Peyton, Preston VanderWal, Peyten Wiese, Kaitlin Musch and Chase Thedens Caldron. 

The production is directed by Melissa Hauschild-Mork, associate professor and resident choreographer for the program.

“Working on this project has taken us back to our childhoods and has allowed our creative and adventurous selves to reemerge. We hope to instill the same sense of childlike wonder into our audiences, young and old alike. As we have become a found community of artists, we have learned that it is never too late to find a place where you belong,” Hauschild-Mork said.

SDSU Theatre and Dance is part of the School of Performing Arts and performs in Brookings. Its mission is to provide a wide variety of expertise in the theater arts through hands-on involvement in the program that inspires students with creativity and helps them grow as artists and individuals. 

For more information, contact Jim Wood, artistic director of theatre and dance, at 605-688-4559 or email william.wood@sdstate.edu.