Anjali Mishra as Mowgli in “The Jungle Book”
Photo courtesy of John Bivins Photography
Think you know what “The Jungle Book” is all about? If you’ve only seen the Disney movie, think again.
Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 stories about a “man-cub” abandoned in the jungles of India and raised to adulthood by the animals who live there are darker, richer and more complex than the animated film (or the live remake). There’s no lazy Baloo the bear teaching Mowgli about the bare necessities or King Louie singing about how he wants to be like “you-oo-oo” (you’re welcome for the earworms). Instead, there are real dangers, important lessons to learn about the “Law of the Jungle,” and bullies to face down.
Kipling’s Mowgli stories explore what it means to be “civilized,” the importance of found family, and the pain and exhilaration of growing up. It’s these stories that local playwright Sean Adams first adapted in 2012 for Gamut Theatre’s Young Acting Company (YAC), a script he has revised for the 2023 production, which will be the first full-blown, 50-young-actors YAC show since 2020, when COVID shut down “Cinderella.” (That show was turned into a podcast that you can still listen to).
After last year’s “Panchatantra Tales,” directors Melissa Nicholson and Rachita Menon were eager to extend a collaboration that both artists had found rewarding and invigorating. That production, which told several of the stories sometimes described as the Indian equivalent to Aesop’s fables, combined Gamut’s tradition of classic theatre with classical Indian dance and music. The result was a beautifully rendered synthesis of cultures, talents and energies.
Looking for another project that would benefit from their diverse training, expertise and cultural backgrounds, they decided upon “The Jungle Book,” a story set in India and one that draws, according to Kipling, on the Panchatantra.
Nicholson, executive director of Gamut Theatre, wanted to do a few things differently from the 2012 production. First, Mowgli would be a girl—not just the actor, the character.
“I wanted to see what happens if you change the gender of this character,” said Nicholson.
Turns out, it doesn’t change much—it’s still a complex coming-of-age fable about figuring out who you are and where you belong.
A more pervasive, if subtler, change was giving Mowgli a stronger voice.
“I noticed, in the first version, people spent a lot of time telling Mowgli who he was and where he belonged,” Adams said. “This time around, people do a lot more listening.”
That’s important, Nicholson and Adams agree, because young people—the people telling this story—are very invested in figuring things out for themselves.
“It’s also funnier,” said Adams, which gives the actors (whose ages range from 6 to 18) something to dig their comedic teeth into.
There are several other rewarding challenges for this cast, Nicholson points out—there’s dance and movement and vocal work. How can actors use their voices to create distinctive animal calls? How can they stand or move like a wolf, a monkey, a snake, a tiger? Actors must tell the stories with their bodies as well as their voices.
That’s also true for the dancers in “The Jungle Book,” whether they’re classically trained or just beginning to learn. Menon, founder and artistic director of the Rasika School of Dance, explains how, in Bharatanatyam, a classical form of Indian dance, there are specific hand gestures to describe the natural world: vines, flowers and trees. Her choreography also echoes the various jungle inhabitants: tigers, bears, snakes, peacocks, deer and so on.
While certain dances (such as the opening piece) will be performed by trained Bharatanatyam dancers, Menon is also teaching the young actors two Indian folk dances: Kurathi Attam from south India and a north Indian dance called Garba, where dancers use colorful skirts to create patterns and formations. Accompanying the dancers (and adding weight to their steps in the Elephant Dance) will be a trio of djembe drummers from Studio Solomon.
Stories and plays about people figuring out who they are and where they belong are enduring for a reason—self-discovery is a journey everyone takes. Mowgli discovers that she fits in nowhere—not in the jungle with her wolf family or bear teacher but also not in the village with humans. To grow up, she realized that she will have to create her own definition of family, that what matters most is not who you were born to be but rather who you choose to become.
“The Jungle Book” performed by Gamut Theatre Group’s Young Acting Company, runs March 31 to April 2 at Gamut Theatre, 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-238-4111 or visit www.gamuttheatre.org/yac.
UPCOMING EVENTS At Gamut Theatre
www.gamuttheatre.org
717-238-4111
“The Jungle Book”
Young Acting Company
April 1 to 2
“Macbeth”
April 14 to 16
The Gamut Gala
April 23
“Rollicking Ripsnorters”
Popcorn Hat Players
April 29 at 1 p.m.
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