Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on October 18, 2018.

It was a sold-out show for opening night of the Floyd Theatre Guild’s production of Jungle Book, a classic story with a positive message of standing strong together.

Adapted by Vera Morris from Rudyard Kipling’s stories, the story of a boy raised by wolves came to life on the June Bug stage with drama, memorable song and dance performances, and a bit of monkey frivolity.

The twenty-three young actors, directed by Emily Gruver, played their characters with personality, sass and star quality.  The audience responded in a roar of applause when the man-eating tiger Shere Khan, played by Lenora Williams, made a dramatic entrance to the Rocky theme song, Eye of the Tiger.

All the best parts came together – costumes, sets and performances– for a successful production, done with humor and some modernized twists.

Along with Shere Khan, the wolf pack and the coconut throwing monkeys, the cast of characters includes a kindly bear (Ella Berzins), an opportunist jackal side-kick (Rose Sarver-Wolf), a fun-loving Monkey King (Alena Bond), a slithering python (Sarah Hall), a dignified panther (Lily Byler) a perky mongoose

(Jovie Anderson), a unique bat (Rhys Bowman), a colorful peacock (Amelia Lucas), a treasure guarding cobra (Wubi Coldwater), a grieving mother (Leah Wright), a village elder (Nyo Allen) and the spirited man-cub, Mowgli, played by Sunny Anderson. – Colleen Redman

There is still time to catch this action-packed and uplifting production. Upcoming performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, October 19 and 20 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday October 21 at 2 p.m.