'James and the Giant Peach' gets musical adaptation at Woodstock Arts Theater

Just as Georgia peaches are at their most delicious, a giant peach is center stage at Woodstock Arts Theater. A musical adaptation of “James and the Giant Peach,” based on the story by Roald Dahl, opens July 13 for a two-week run, with a sensory-friendly performance on July 16. Woodstock Arts artistic director Zach Stolz joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom along with Sabrina Lloyd, director of “James and the Giant Peach,” to talk about the classic tale of finding family in friendship and its hit musical adaptation.

Adapting a poignant story of an abused child:

“I think we have to start by just admitting that Dahl himself was probably a victim of abuse because I don’t know how somebody could understand it so intimately from the outside as an artist,” said Lloyd. “I don’t think that he probably had adequate help and that his art was probably his help … It’s one of his earlier works, so it’s a little more raw. It’s a little more unfiltered and un-commented-on. He’s processing as opposed to having processed stuff, and I think in trauma therapy, they try to avoid things like ‘forgive your abuser.’ You know, you don’t owe your abuser anything else. You can actually move forward, and I think that’s a very sophisticated and modern take on coming through trauma, and it’s right at the center of what this story is about.”