MARCH 2018 | SARASOTA SCENE 95
Asolo Repertory Theatre and the creative team of Rick
Miller, Craig Francis, and their production company,
Kidoons, brought Sarasota a hit last year with Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It was so well-
show of the theater’s 2017-2018 season, running June 9
to June 24, with previews June 6-8. The new offering? A
remake of the Rudyard Kipling classic Jungle Book.
Why Jungle Book? Co-creator and co-director Rick
Miller read Kipling’s stories as a child and remembered
much of it by heart. “It simply seemed to be an
appropriate follow up to Twenty Thousand Leagues,”
he explains, “since it’s about education and the
environment. Those are two relevant issues today.” He
notes that while many have seen the Disney animated
movie or the more recent live action/CGI movie
version, most people only know the story of Mowgli in
the jungle. But Kipling didn’t just write one book—he
did two full collections of stories, and many modern
versions don’t tackle the stories about how Mowgli goes
into the city. They stick to the jungle side. “One of our
goals was to use a bigger lens on this story. Mowgli
is still there in the city story, and so is Baloo. But it’s
important to show that not only was Mowgli rejected
by the animals for being too human, he’s also rejected
by the humans for being too much of an animal.” That
makes it a far more nuanced and moving story about a
today—perhaps more than ever—know about having
multiple/blended families and feeling disconnected.
Miller adds that one of the challenges facing Captain
Nemo from Twenty Thousand Leagues was his own
sense of feeling disconnected. So much so, in fact,
that he exiled himself away inside his submarine, the
Nautilus, instead of dealing
with forces that had a
devastating effect on his family.
For those who missed that
grand story at Asolo Rep
last year, you’d be surprised
to know that there wasn’t a
single drop of water on stage.
The underwater effects were
created by fabric, projections,
and sound. “That kind of
simple staging will happen
with Jungle Book,” says Miller.
“People will be blown away.
No tree branches or leaves will
be on stage—not a single one.
We’ll create the jungle through
an immersive manipulation
of shadows, silhouettes, and
projections. It’s very low-tech,
yet audiences won’t quite know
what’s real and what isn’t.”
And just as Asolo Rep’s recent
record-breaking production
of Evita used a predominantly
Latinx cast to give the piece
authenticity, so too will Jungle
Book use the same strategy to
bring the jungles of India to life.
Of the four performers, two are
Canadians of Indian descent,
and the other two are New
Yorkers of Indian descent. Plus
the sound designer, too, is also
Education MATTERS
By Ryan G. Van Cleave
of Indian descent.
While Miller mainly handles
the theatrical side of things,
co-creator and co-director
Craig Francis takes a big role in
the networking and outreach
component of Kidoons, which
is what helps make the world
premiere of Jungle Book a
series. Kidoons—which started
about 10 years ago—integrates
online education and live
entertainment.
“In our imagination,” says
Francis, “the theatrical
performances and online
education all are part of one
big universe, though maybe not
quite on the scale of Marvel.
Through Kidoons, kids can
get a rounded experience to
complement a live event.” For
Twenty Thousand Leagues, they
offered an animated version of
the story on their website as well
as videos from marine scientists
who looked at solutions to
the ocean’s problems to help
kickstart STEM discussions.
Jungle Book will have a similarly
robust set of online offerings,
including an animated video and
educational resources. What
on the town
ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE
PRESENTS JUNGLE BOOK
Anita Majumdar, Levin Valayil, Miriam Fernandes, and Matt Lucas.
Courtesy Asolo Rep.