Press Release: The Incredible Book Eating Boy

TAKE A BITE OF FAMILY THEATRE WITH SOUTH COAST REPERTORY’S NEXT MUSICAL THE INCREDIBLE BOOK EATING BOY

FOR PHOTOS OF THE CAST: https://www.scr.org/about/press-room/photos-24-25-season/press-photos-the-incredible-book-eating-boy/

COSTA MESA, Calif. (Feb. 20, 2025)—South Coast Repertory (Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Suzanne Appel) celebrates the joy of reading with a hilarious musical almost good enough to eat in The Incredible Book Eating Boy, book by Madhuri Shekar, music by Christian Magby, lyrics by Christian Albright and based on the best-selling book by Oliver Jeffers. Directed by SCR Artistic and Audience Engagement Associate H. Adam Harris, The Incredible Book Eating Boy runs Feb. 28-March 16 on the Julianne Argyros Stage.

Tickets to the Theatre for Young Audiences and Families production are available at scr.org. The Incredible Book Eating Boy is suitable for children 4 years old and up.

“Oliver Jeffers acclaimed book, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, springs to life in this vibrant, poignant and entertaining musical staging directed by our very own H. Adam Harris,” Ivers said. “A perfect Theatre for Young Audiences and Families offering, ‘Book Eating Boy’ reminds us we can’t skip steps in life. Both irreverent and fun, it’s also a reminder that reading insecurity is no laughing matter. The Incredible Book Eating Boy is a wonderful complement to the heroic stories on our stages all season long.”

Through a special SCR program designed to bring live theatre to school children—often for the first time—the theatre is offering 18 student matinees, serving approximately 6,000 Orange County school children including students from the Newport-Mesa, Santa Ana and Garden Grove districts. Through a grant from the Segerstrom Family Foundation, SCR provides free bus transportation and tickets to all Title I schools in Orange County districts. Paid tickets for student matinees are subsidized and just $7 each. All of the school performances are full.

“South Coast Repertory is a theatre for all of Orange County, from ages 4 to 104,” Appel said. “Producing live theatre perfect for families, including grandparents, parents and elementary school aged children is very important to SCR and with The Incredible Book Eating Boy, we’re sharing a funny, relatable—but important—musical story that people of all ages will enjoy.”

Performances Thursday through Sunday February 28-March 16 are open to the public. Tickets are now on sale and range in price from $37 to $55, with additional discounts available for educators, seniors and students. Tickets may be purchased online at www.scr.org or by phone at (714) 708-5555. More information is available at www.scr.org.

Special Events

• ASL Interpreted Performance: Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m.
• Sensory-Friendly/Relaxed Performance, Saturday, March 15, 4:30 p.m.

The Musical

Henry loves books, but doesn’t like reading them. If only he could learn new things without deciphering long, complicated words. One day, he tries nibbling on a page—and it works! Soon, he’s chomping his way through the school library, getting smarter with every bite—until the facts get all jumbled up and his tummy hurts.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy combines music and comedy to bring books and the endless wonders of reading to center stage. As it does, it contains deeper lessons applicable to not only kids, but everyone, including the lesson Henry gets from his doctor—that books are for reading and sharing. Not for eating.

“Take your time, you don’t have to rush. Reading, like many things, is difficult when you first begin and rather than take the short cut, the long way, the harder way, the slower way, is sometimes the best way,” Harris said. “The second lesson is family will always be there to help you. Just ask for help. Trust your friends and education can be fun. Books and reading are not about just absorbing facts, but unlocking your imagination.”

The Author

Described by The Guardian as “funny, inventive, anarchic and deliciously detailed,” The Incredible Book Eating Boy is one of Jeffers’ most popular books, selling more than 14 million copies worldwide. It’s been translated into more than 50 languages, winning the Children’s Junior Division at the Irish Book Awards and the CBI Bisto Book of the Year, emblematic of one of the top Children’s books written or illustrated by an Irish native or resident.

Jeffers illustrated two New York Times bestsellers: The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home. His other books include Stuck, A Little Stuck, Where to Hide a Star, How to Catch a Star, Begin Again, What We’ll Build: Plans for Our Together Future, There’s a Ghost in This House, Once Upon an Alphabet and Meanwhile Back On Earth. Jeffers also created the lyric video to U2’s song “Ordinary Love.”

The Director

One of the most promising, up-and-coming directors in regional theatre, Harris focuses on heart-forward, textually rigorous, imaginative productions of classics and new works. The Incredible Book Eating Boy is Harris’ second SCR production, following his entertaining direction of Greg Banks’ two-person adaptation of Snow White in 2022. Harris’ most recent directorial projects were Tick Tick…Boom at Chance Theater and Heritage at North Carolina Black Repertory. He has also helmed Redwood at Jungle Theater and Luna Gale and How It’s Gon’ Be with Underdog Theatre Company and will direct Romeo & Juliet at the Great River Shakespeare Festival in Minnesota this summer.

Harris has directed readings and development workshops with IAMA Theatre Company’s Emerging Writers and New Works Festivals and at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, National Black Theatre, Theater Mu, Theater Latté Da, History Theatre, and Exposed Brick Theatre.

The Cast

The Incredible Book Eating Boy features Joslynn Cortes (Ms. Penny/Mom/Artist/Others), Adam Leiva (Henry), Brian Kim McCormick (Dad/Host/Others), Erica Schaeffer (Olivia/Doctor/Others), and Bradley Sharper (Rover/Jeff/Others).

Cortes (Instagram handle @joslynn_cortes) returns to SCR for the second time this season, after making her SCR debut at Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors. Her previous acting credits include Junie B. Jones in Junie B. Jones the Musical, and Arlene in Garfield the Musical with Cattitude at Walnut Street Theatre, Anita in West Side Story at Glow Lyric Theatre and Claire in Ordinary Days at The Wayward Artist.

Leiva (@adamleiva) makes his SCR debut as Henry, the incredible book eating boy. His previous roles include Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Angel in Rent, both at Chance Theater. Leiva has been singing since the age of four.

McCormick (@asian_with_a_camera) returns to SCR after previously appearing as Schroeder in Outside SCR’s You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown at Mission San Juan Capistrano and understudying Audrey II in SCR’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. McCormick’s regional credits include The Sound of Music at Musical Theatre West, Chimerica at Quantum Theatre and Aubergine at San Diego Repertory, among others. A voiceover artist, McCormick has voiced cartoons such as “Pokemon,” many English dubs, including “Squid Game,” and several other video games and audiobooks.

After beginning dance training at the age of three and singing at 10, Schaeffer (@ericaschaeff) makes her SCR debut after appearances in 42^nd Street at 3-D Theatricals, The Sound of Music at McCoy Rigby Entertainment and as Lucille Frank in Parade at Chance Theater, among others. Schaeffer earned her BFA in Music Theatre from UC Irvine.

Sharper makes his SCR debut after appearing in Starmites: The Space-Age Musical at Open Fist Theatre Company.

The Creative Team

The design and creative team includes Zachary Dietz is the musical director; Fred Kinney, scenic design; Adriana Lambarri, costume design; Avery Reagan, lighting design, and Eric Backus, sound design. Annie Yee is the choreographer, Joanne DeNaut, CSA. is the casting director, Maisie Chan is the production manager, and Natalie Figaredo is the production stage manager.

The Incredible Book Eating Boy received generous support from lead sponsor The Segerstrom Family Foundation, and Honorary Producers Apriem Advisors, Bank of America and Associate Honorary Producers Leona Aronoff Sadacca, and the Richard & Elizabeth Steele Endowment Fund.

Location: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the David Emmes/Martin Benson Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available on Park Center Drive, off Anton Boulevard.

2024-25 Upcoming Productions: Hershey Felder’s Rachmaninoff and The Tsar, Feb. 19-March 2; Hershey Felder’s Great American Songbook Sing-Along, March 2-3; The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Feb. 28-March 16; You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World!, April 5-May 3; The Staircase, April 27-May 18. The annual showcase of new works, the Pacific Playwrights Festival, runs May 2-4.

Complete information is available at www.scr.org.