Willy Wonka Jr. is a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," tailored for young performers. The story follows Charlie Bucket, who wins a golden ticket to tour Willy Wonka's magical chocolate factory, along with other children who represent various negative character traits like greed and being spoiled. The tour is a test, and only the most deserving, like Charlie, make it through the factory's wonders and challenges.
This production was put on by the Hopebox Summer Camp. Their camp ran from June 9-July 16 and and had performance on July 15 and 16. The camp met for 3 hours a day, Monday-Thursday. This production had students from ages 7-17. The program had 48 students, with 25 students performing in each performance.
Direction:
The show was co-directed by Drew Anderson and Julie Williams. I was impressed with the quality of this production that this duo was able to create. Directing kids is no easy feat, but they made sure that every student had their moment and every student shined. They choreographed easy but eye catching choreography that the children could accomplish. They played up some jokes better than I have seen in some previous versions.
The show was music directed by Teresa Melendez. Melendez was able to create a dynamic sound with the ensemble to help them sound clear, and to be honest, absolutely adorable. She made sure to help those with solos to be able to sound confident and pulled out some real gems in the group.
Performances:
(Since this is a student production, I am omitting names of the student actors from this review. I will just talk about their character.)
The actor who played Charlie made him lovable and someone you would want to cheer for.
The actor who played Grandma Georgina stayed in character the whole time she was on stage. She stayed focused on her knitting project her characters was doing. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard her sing. Her voice was clear, and just an absolute delight to listen to.
The actor who played Veruca Salt was a delight to watch. She stayed in character the whole time. She reminded me of the actress who played Veruca in the 1971 film. There was one point in the night where there was an accidental humor moment and she didn't let that get her down.
My all time favorite actor of the night played Mrs. Gloop. She commanded the stage. Her physicality added so much humor to the show. Her accent was incredible.
Design:
For the set for this performance they used the set designed by Ryan Bruckman and constructed by Curtis Dalton from "Something Rotten." It was a clever use of the space and that gorgeous set. The set was made into three main pieces that could be flipped and put together to make different scenes. There were additional set pieces crafted for the show. They were designed by Drew Anderson and constructed by Tanaya Ropp and Jon Graff. The boat the cast used to travel down the chocolate river was well designed and well crafted. I was elated when I saw the boat used in the next scene. It was a clever use of the space.
The costume designers were Drew Anderson and Becky Evans and the wig master was Julie Williams. There was an array of colors used for the Oompa Loompas. Each Oompa Loompa had a very colorful wig. Wonka's costume was reminiscent to Gene Wilder's version of the character. My favorite costume was Mike Teevee's. He wore a Batman shirt with a cape.
The properties designer for the show was Kimberly Jensen. I was impressed with the quality and quantity of props that were on stage. During the song, "I Eat More," tray after tray of food appeared on stage. It added to the comedy of that song. The cotton candy props were eye catching and were a good choice of colors. There were some props from previous shows that were repurposed and used in a delightful way.
The light and projection design was by Alex Stewart. I didn't realize there were projections being projected on the stage until after the song, "I See It All on TV." I was enamored by the tv effect that was projected on the stage. During the "Flying" and "Burping Song" there was a projection of a shadow of a fan. (It was SO cool!)
Wall of Hope Recipient:
The Hopebox Theatre's mission is, "Bringing Hope to Families Battling Cancer through the Performing Arts." Each show they pick a recipient that they donate a portion of their proceeds and all their donations to. Since this show was a Summer Camp production and ran for two days, there was no recipient.
Final Impressions:
The team did an excellent job and wrangling the children and putting together a cute projection. If you are looking for a way to get your child into the arts, consider the Hopebox Academy. This year they are doing Peter Pan Jr. and Hades Town-Teen Edition.
Hopebox Academy
As always, please consider donating to the Hopebox so you can support others going through their cancer journey.
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