Narrows Community Theater’s “James and the Giant Peach” brought huge crowds, entertainment

The show was NCT’s 16th annual summer youth production. 

Curtain call.

The Narrows Community Theater (NCT) concluded its production of “James and the Giant Peach” and according to staff and talent, it was another smashing success for the non-profit organization.

Based on the book written by Roald Dahl, “James and the Giant Peach” follows James Henry Trotter as he looks to find adventure and climbs inside a giant, magical peach. The production featured a score by award-winning Pasek and Paul. 

The show was NCT’s 16th annual summer youth production. There were six performances in total and took a final bow on Sept. 16.

Raj Kalra, board member of NCT, said big audiences really showed up for every show, especially the final one.

Late last year, NCT announced the summer show would be “Hairspray.” However, post auditions and prior to rehearsals, they pivoted to a new show. Kalra was impressed with the cast and crew for the seamless transition.

“We are so incredibly proud of this year’s Summer Youth production of ‘James and the Giant Peach,’” he said. “The creative team, parents and especially the kids could not have been more resilient during this transition. The fact that our community rallied around this lesser-known musical really showcased their commitment to our organization, the talent and the local performing arts scene more broadly. We had more partnerships with local businesses and content creators than for any NCT show that I’ve been a part of since 2023 [or] maybe ever.”

NCT also partnered with Bay Ridge-based St. Patrick Church’s pantry to launch a food drive. Called Peaches for Peaches, theater attendees were asked to bring canned food items, including peaches, to help those in need. 

“Our Peaches for Peaches food drive exceeded our wildest expectations, and we will be bringing those donations to the food pantry at St. Pat’s in Bay Ridge very soon, hopefully this week,” Kalra said. “The Board at NCT is incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed to making Peach a sweet success.”

In a Facebook post, the NCT said thank you,” to our amazing audience who brought such energy and joy, our incredible volunteers who made the magic happen, our supremely talented cast who helped us shake it up every night.”

The next general audience production for NCT is “Anastasia” and will premiere in December.