Child actors shine in wacky Wimpy Kid musical

The young talent starring in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical at Theatre on the Square in Sandton makes it clear that they are anything but wimpy. And what could be more fun than starring in the theatre adaptation of the bestselling book series by Jeff Kinney?

Thirteen-year-old Jayden Fittinghoff, who plays the titular wimpy kid, Greg Heffley, told the SA Jewish Report that when he saw that a production was being made of his favourite book series, he knew he had to be a part of it and spent a lot of time practicing so he could get the part.

“I couldn’t believe that I could audition to play the part of a character I love so much,” he said. Even his teachers sent his mother information about the production because they knew that he would be such a good fit.

Fittinghoff is one of two Gregs who have been prepped to perform in the two casts so as not to overburden the child actors in the many performances from 3 April to 4 May. The production is directed by Vicky Friedman, who co-produced the show with Daphne Kuhn, the owner of Theatre on the Square.

In the show, Greg interacts with a whole host of funky characters that populate his family and middle school. “It’s about a kid who thinks popularity is everything, but then figures out that it’s just middle school, and friends are more important,” said 11-year-old Raphael Spira, who plays Fregley, one of Greg’s more colourful classmates.

“Fregley is a weird kid, and he feels completely free and likes boogers,” said Spira, “I can do so many things, and none of it is classified as overacting because Fregley is just over the top, which is such fun.”

Tatum Murray-Smith, 12, who plays Greg’s rival, Patty Farrel, said that though she had been in one other production before, being able to be in a cast full of kids her age was exciting. It kept her going through the long afternoon rehearsals.

“The rehearsals were very long, from 15:00 to 19:00 most days,” said nine-year-old Ciana Leon, who plays nerdy girl Christine Hosey. “And we moved boxes and did lots of exercise.”

Nine-year-old Livia Lurie, who plays Greg’s little sister, Manny, said that they were always laughing during rehearsals and the backstage crew helped make the atmosphere more fun for the children. “There’s a song called The Cheese Touch, and at some point during rehearsals our stage manager told us not to touch the cheesecake, and we all burst out laughing,” she said.

Fittinghoff said learning the material for the show was a cool experience. “I reread my favourite books in the series to help me prepare, which made it extra fun,” he said. However, some of the child actors, like Rebecca Damelin, 11, who plays Claire, a goth girl who goes to school with Greg, said Diary of a Wimpy Kid hadn’t appealed to her much before becoming part of the show. Now, however, that has all changed, and she’s keen to explore the whole universe of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.

Similarly, Lurie hadn’t read the books before starting the production. Now that she knows and likes the characters, she has begun reading the series.

Moriah Tucker, 11, who plays Pauline, one of Patty’s minions, said she had been nervous when she first auditioned for the show. However, when she went on stage for the debut performance, her nerves disappeared because of all the preparation. “When we were rehearsing, we always had the other cast watching, so it wasn’t too scary when we performed properly for the first time because we had always performed for an audience.”

Murray-Smith said that when the curtain came up for the first time, “I was so nervous, but when I got on stage, everything just came to me because I love being on stage.”

Fittinghoff said he had also been nervous before his first performance, but “when I saw the audience, I asked myself if I was living in a dream”.

As one of the older cast members, Jaxon Cohen, 16, has a lot more schoolwork to catch up on compared to the rest of the cast. “Grade 11 is a hectic year,” he said. “I’m missing a lot of school and work, but it’s all worth it for the show. In the downtime at rehearsals and at shows, I’ve been doing a lot of catching up on work and my school has been supportive of me being in this musical.”

Many of the children found that the trickiest element of being part of the production was that they were missing school or school work to pursue their dream of being on stage.

“I’ve missed quite a bit of school between rehearsals and the show,” said Fittinghoff. “My teachers are there to help me catch up, so it’s not too bad.”

There are also some members of the cast who keep Shabbat, so when there were rehearsals on a Saturday, they would walk to the rehearsal space, and wouldn’t write any notes. Said Lurie, “I quite liked walking to rehearsals, it was fun.”

Murray-Smith said that the hardest part about doing the production was constantly trying to keep things fun and exciting. “We have to try and keep every performance genuine and put as much energy into it as we did before,” Murray-Smith said.

Her favourite scene is the one where Greg goes to Fregley’s house for the first time. “That scene is just so funny, and everyone laughs,” she said.

“My favourite part of this show is the music,” said Fittinghoff. “All the songs are so catchy, and they get you in such a good mood. You’ll be singing them the whole of the next day.”