Every hero has a journey.
And American playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes' story, "The Good Peaches," isn't your typical fairy tale story.
The central character is a girl named Aurora who encounters a storm. It focuses on what happens when someone wishes for upheaval and the aftermath of getting that wish fulfilled.
American Stage Producing Artistic Director Helen Murray said it perfectly suits Florida — especially now. It's one year after a series of storms pummeled the west coast of Florida.
“This is something that every year, there is the question mark in our head of what storm is about to come, and we're all very thankful for the years when it's mild. But I will say that watching last year as this community stood brave —brave in the face of the storm and the way in which they aided each other, sometimes even before formal aid came,” Murray said.
She said she was especially drawn to the story because the character who stands strong and brave is little.
“It says something that even the smallest among us has that bravery inside,” she said.
American Stage is teaming up with The Florida Orchestra and projectALCHEMY Dance to bring the production to the Mahaffey Theater for two performances on Saturday, Sept. 20.
ProjectALCHEMY Dance Founder and Artistic Director Alexander Jones is creating the choreography.
“It's a girl versus nature story, and it's interesting for us from a dance perspective, because the dancers are the storm, and they're also the ancestors of the people that have come before Aurora,” Jones said.
He detailed what happened during a recent rehearsal.
“I was like, oh, okay, so the waves are in friction with each other, and then all of a sudden, the waves come out. They make kind of a water trench," he said. "They splash down together, and it's so interesting that like seeing that movement happen and kind of disseminating it down to, What am I seeing? What are the actions? What's the verbs, what's the imagery?"
Murray will direct and said she has never tackled a production like it on this scale. There will be seven dancers, three actors and nearly 70 musicians on stage.
Florida Orchestra Resident Conductor Chelsea Gallo will conduct music by John Adams and Benjamin Britten. She said there’s a garment in the story that takes the child through the generations of her family and helps her discover who she really is.
“And that’s the central idea of the thread uniting the past to the future that we’re going to also use in a musical motif, kind of way. We’re going to musically represent that thread and present that to the audience to take us through the story,” Gallo said.
An earlier production of “The Good Peaches” in Cleveland had a similar take. But it only had actors and live music. Murray said she had a different vision for this show.
“My mind was like, there should be a dance element involved as well. I'm so excited by what the team is coming up with. And the conversations with Chelsea and Alex have been so rich and textured that I just I'm really excited about what we're creating together, and how rich, and I think, unique the experience will be for people, and how much is for this community, and it is a family-friendly piece,” she said.
Tickets for both Sept. 20 shows range from $20 to $55. You can learn more at the Florida Orchestra's website.
