Ronald Dahl's classic tale is told by James himself and the insect characters -- Miss Spider, Old-Green Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybird, and Earthworm. The play begins at the end of the story, when James and his friends are living in the giant peach stone in Central Park, New York.

A tour guide brings a party of tourists (the audience) to see this major attraction, and James and his friends tell the story of how they came to live in New York. The insectsalso play the other roles, like James' cruel Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. This epic journey across the Atlantic is acted out with live action, puppetry, and storytelling.