Welcome to the Jungle

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This article was published 07/12/2016 (3553 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A quick survey of the actors and director mounting the Manitoba Theatre for Young People production of The Jungle Book reveals that no one’s first exposure to the classic tale came from the novel by Rudyard Kipling.

Rather, people primarily knew the story from the 1967 Disney animated version. (Is there anyone over the age of 40 who doesn’t know the ursine Baloo’s musical party piece, Bear Necessities?)

Director Robb Paterson does recall invoking character names such as Baloo and Bagheera from cub scout rituals. (”We’ll dob, dob, dob.”) He also recalls seeing a 1994 live-action version of the story starring Jason Lee. Curiously, no one mentions last year’s Disney film version, in which Bill Murray provided the voice of Baloo, though it proved to be a big box office hit.

“I never read the Kipling stories until much later,” says Toronto actor Adriano Sobretodo Jr., who takes the pivotal role of Mowgli, a child abandoned to the harsh realities of the jungle life. “Reading them I was surprised by its violence and the hubris and arrogance of Mowgli… but I could also relate to that in my own life.”

All in all, the stage adaptation by Greg Banks, which premièred last year with the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre Company, enjoys a rich diversity of interpretations. This version promises to be a memorable one thanks to a huge “jungle gym” set design by Robin Fisher and performances by a dream team of Winnipeg actors, all of whom perform multiple roles alongside Sobretodo.

Cory Wojcik plays Baloo, Mowgli’s principle adviser and friend. Actor-dancer Kimberley Rampersad is the sleek panther Bagheera. Musical vet Jennifer Lyon is the helpful but dangerous snake Kaa. And Carson Nattrass is Shere Khan, the tiger who spends years dreaming of having Mowgli for dinner, literally.

Befitting the Kipling story, the play has a certain primal quality: danger, fight and flight. It’s certainly physically demanding for all concerned, especially Mowgli.

“For me in particular, I’m off the stage for all of 30 seconds or a minute and it’s a 90-minute play,” Sobretodo says. “But I’m a physical performer and that’s not only helped with all the movement on the stage, but also taking Mowgli from a young baby all the way up to the brink of manhood.”

Even for the role of the laid-back Baloo, Wojcik acknowledges the show can be a marathon.

“One thing you learn is that you’re not in your 20s anymore,” he says. “I played a lot of hockey when I was younger, so I just naturally adapted to physical stuff, even though I’m a bigger guy,” he says. “I didn’t do any pre-training… although I thought about it.”

You might think playing a bear would mean an actor could abandon nuance for something big, loud and primal. But no, says Wojcik, Baloo does have his moments of vulnerability, despite being, you know, a bear.

“He’s trying to teach Mowgli how to survive in the jungle and the monkeys say the lessons are silly. And I think Baloo kind of takes that personally,” Wojcik says. “If Bagheera teaches Mowgli the pragmatic side, Baloo teaches him more emotional side. He’s kind of like the big goofy uncle.”

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @FreepKing