Arden Children’s Theatre Presents the World Premiere of Greg Bank’s The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book begins performances at the Arden Theatre Company tonight. Based on the classic tales by Rudyard Kipling, the story revolves around the man-cub Mowgli. As he learns life in the jungle he meets a series of characters including, Baloo the bear, Kaa the python, Shere Khan the tiger, and Bagheera the black panther. Each has a role to play in Mowgli’s life as well as in the animal kingdom.

The play is written by Greg Banks, based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling, and directed by Matthew Decker. It features Taysha Canales as Mother Wolf, monkey, and Kaa, Charlie Delmarcelle as Baloo, monkey, and Father Wolf, Thaddeus Fitzpatrick as Mowgli, Sean Lally as Shere Khan, wolf, monkey, and vulture, and Nikki E. Walker as Bagheera and vulture.

"The audience will play a huge part in helping to create the aural landscape of the jungle," says director Matthew Decker. "We hope to spark children’s imaginations and make them a part of the action by ‘casting’ them as monkeys and other inhabitants of the jungle."

The creative team includes Timothy R. Mackabee (set design), Lauren Perigard (costume design), Maria Shaplin (lighting design), Daniel Perelstein (sound design), Kate Nelson (stage manager), and Annika Boras (assistant director).

Performances will run through June 21.

For tickets and more information, click here.