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Bluefield College’s Youth Theatre, featuring children actors from the community, will present the classic Disney musical “The Jungle Book,” May 24, 26 and 27, in BC’s Harman Chapel Auditorium.

Chris Shoemaker

May 9, 2012

The Thursday, May 24 and Saturday, May 26 performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night. The Sunday, May 27 matinee will begin at 2 p.m. Admission at the door for all shows will be $8 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens.

The Bluefield Youth Theatre cast for “Jungle Book” includes 15 children and youth from Greater Bluefield, ranging from seven to 15 years of age, including Andrew Brown, who will play Mowgli, an orphaned boy who has been left in a basket in the jungle only to be found by a wolf that raises the boy with her cubs.
 

When Mowgli becomes a young boy, the wolf tribe learns that Shere Khan, a man-eating Bengal tiger, has returned to the jungle. They determine that Mowgli must be returned to the “man village” for his own safety. Escorting him back to the village: the panther Bagheera, played by Luke Huffman.
 

But, Mowgli is opposed to leaving the jungle, despite Bagheera’s efforts, and his position is only reinforced when along the venture back to the village he meets the laid-back, fun-loving sloth bear Baloo, played by Jacob Stowers, who shows Mowgli the fun of having a care-free life and promises to raise him and never take him back to the “man village.”
 

Mowgli’s adventures in the jungle of India also include a conversation with a coconut tree (Elizabeth Carpenter); an unpleasant hug from a rock python named Kaa (Katey Priest, Katherine Yates, Claire Fisher, Mallory Brown, and Emma Miller); an unfortunate stint as a recruit in the elephant Jungle Patrol with Colonel Hathi (Alexandra Stout); a kidnapping by King Louis (Bryan Fisher) and his jungle monkeys (Christian Yates and Ethan Stout); and a meeting with a tawdry trio of vultures (Nick King, Katherine Yates, and Christian Yates).
 

The adventure ends with a climatic battle between Mowgli and the great tiger Shere Kahn, played by Ben Shumate. And, as does Disney’s popular “Jungle Book” animated movie, the BC Youth Theatre stage rendition of the jungle drama features a variety of songs made popular on the big screen, including “Bare Necessities” and “I Wanna Be Like You.”
 

“We have had a lot of fun working on ‘Jungle Book,’” said director Charles Reese, a BC associate professor of theatre arts. “The kids have loved learning the songs and dances, and we keep getting calls and emails from parents saying that their children are singing the songs at home over and over again. We hope the audience is going to have just as much fun as the kids have.”
 

For more information about BC’s “Jungle Book,” Bluefield Youth Theatre, or other theatre productions at Bluefield College, contact Reese by phone at 276-326-4244 or by e-mail at .

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