Overshadowed Theatrical Productions Announces Auditions for:
James and the Giant Peach (TYA)
Words and Music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Book by Timothy Allen McDonald
Based on the book by Roald Dahl
Directed by Jessica Means
Vocal Direction by John Hacker
Choreography by Katy Smith

Audition Date/Time: Monday, October 26, 2026*
*If you cannot be present for the audition, video submissions will be accepted.

Callbacks: Thursday, October 29, 2026 in the evening

Audition Location:
Overshadowed Theatrical Productions
900 Foster Avenue
Medinah, Illinois

Play description:
Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach is now a musical for the whole family to enjoy! Featuring a wickedly tuneful score by the Tony Award-nominated team of Pasek and Paul (Dogfight and A Christmas Story the Musical) and a curiously quirky book by Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley), critics rave: James and the Giant Peach is a "masterpeach!"

Cast List and Breakdown:

Ladahlord: A strange, magical storyteller. Often inserts himself into the story, in disguise, to help push the action forward.
Gender: male
Stage Age: 25 to 55
Vocal range top: A4
Vocal range bottom: Bb2

James: A lonely young boy who lacks confidence. Having lost both his parents in a freak accident, he feels he belongs nowhere in the world. However, when given the right encouragement he becomes resourceful and innovative. A good friend.
Gender: male (will consider casting a young girl)
Stage Age: 13 and younger
Vocal range top: G5
Vocal range bottom: G3

Spiker: James' mean aunt. A thief and a scoundrel. Shrewd and opportunistic. Very tall and thin.
Gender: female
Stage Age: 30 to 60
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: F#3

Sponge: James' other mean aunt. Also a thief and a scoundrel, but not nearly as bright as her sister. She often has her mind on food.
Gender: female
Stage Age: 30 to 60
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: F#3

Spider: A normal spider who has become human-sized after eating a crocodile tongue. Her husband was killed and eaten by Spiker and Sponge. She is warm and friendly to James.
Gender: female
Stage Age: 20 to 40
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: G3

Green Grasshopper: A wizened grasshopper who has become human-sized after eating a crocodile tongue. An excellent musician. Has his eye on Ladybug.
Gender: male
Stage Age: 20 to 40
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: C3

Centipede: An ornery centipede who becomes human-sized after eating a crocodile tongue. Hates humans, in part because Spiker and Sponge fumigated his family. Prickly and rude, everyone thinks he is a pest.
Gender: male
Stage Age: 20 to 40
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: C3

Ladybug: A motherly ladybug who has become human-sized after eating a crocodile tongue. Respectable and classy, she has a warm, caring heart. Has her eye on Grasshopper.
Gender: female
Stage Age: 30 to 60
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: G3

Earthworm: An earthworm who has become human-sized after eating a crocodile tongue. A bit of a scaredy-cat. He is neurotic and worried about everything, but is very friendly and brave when called upon.
Gender: male
Stage Age: 25 to 50
Vocal range top: A4
Vocal range bottom: C2

We may be considering opening an ensemble track, but the TYA version is not written for this. We will decide once we see auditions. The bugs double these characters in the actual script.

Ensemble: Crowd, Karl Kreatour, Reporters, Vagrants, Garden Guild, Bobby-Cops, Willy Wonka, Oompa Loompas, Hollywood Agents, Seagulls, New Yorkers.
Gender: any