By Amanda VanNostrand.
Imagine, just for a second, a world without stories. A world where no child is taught to pretend, make believe, or dream a dream bigger than the world they have been born into would be, I believe, a dark and dangerous place. Thankfully authors such as Roald Dahl have come along and ensured that children need not grow up in this way. The beauty of an author’s work is that they take the realities of life and make them into beautiful tales that give people, especially children who have not known great abundances of luck and good fortune, the hope that is necessary to grow up and achieve the dreams they wish to pursue. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is one of the many books that children can look to for this example of hope, and children who are lucky enough to score tickets to this one will be glad to sit in this story’s presence as it unfolds on the stage. This is a must-see show and it will be in Philadelphia between now and November 18th.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the story of Charlie Bucket, a young boy born into poverty. He lives in the town where the famous Willy Wonka resides in his mysterious chocolate factory. As Wonka grows older he realizes that he will need to pass his factory on to someone so he decides to hold a contest for 5 lucky ticket winners to come to the factory and win the chance for a ‘lifetime time supply of chocolate.’ (As an adult watching the film it may suddenly dawn on you how amazing a marketing scheme this is; just how much money did Willy make off of his golden ticket idea? Brilliant!) Viewers are brought into Wonka’s world of imagination and are invited to revel in the idea that the impossible is real and that all things childlike from overabundances of candy, to imaginative lands of Oompa Loompas, down to the have-nots realizing that dreams can come true, are much better realities than what we face as adults. Children know a thing or two, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great way to reengage with that fact of life.
The Academy of Music is showing this classic story loved by so many but with some newness that is both necessary and refreshing for the world today. One change is that the technology in the show has changed. Mike Teavee, for example, is hooked on his tablet as opposed to the television. (And the televisions making appearances for news programs are certainly large flat-screens!) In addition to the progression of technology on the stage, Mr. Beauregarde (with his Smart Phone in hand) and Violet are both played by black actors and their characters are played with black culture in mind. Their characters are transformed from the original story to include more than just white characters, and it is a refreshing change to a tale that once involved only a white group of characters. (I believe that Roald Dahl would greatly approve of this change; a quick look into the history of this story proposes that he originally wished for Charlie himself to be a black character but was dissuaded by his agent.) This is a show that allows children to witness a cast that is at least a bit more diverse than those of its previous retellings, and this is a great start.
Though these two changes are positive in nature, there are a couple of instances where other transformations may have been taken too far. Remember the scene where Violet turns into a blueberry? In this show, the berry actually bursts and her father can be seen cleaning her blueberry juices off the stage. And if this was not horrifying enough there is a scene where Veruca Salt (played by an incredible ballerina – Jessica Cohen), a dancer on pointe for the show’s entirety, is carried by a group of giant squirrels. The squirrels dislike her (understandably so) and as they are holding her above their heads, they go off stage for a moment only to return with single body parts (you know – her head, individual legs, arms, etc.) being held up by each squirrel. (The squirrels dismember Violet.) It is evident that this reviewer was not the only one who was shocked, as this event occurs at the end of a song (which normally encourages applause from the audience) but the audience sat silently as the scene transitioned. Not the most tasteful scene, especially in a children’s production. (Though one could argue that perhaps children who need the reality check about being too spoiled would do well to see this!) (Also, don’t worry – Wonka mumbles about being able to revive both girls after each shocking incident occurs. But we’re all aware that children know far more than we give them credit for, so his words are hardly a comfort.)
Everything else in the show is sublime, as most shows presented by The Kimmel Center are: the musical score holds some new songs as well as some from the original film and they are all well done (music by Marc Shaiman); the cast is great as well, with a couple of cast members of note such as Jessica Cohen who plays Veruca Salt and can sing and perform ballet (both of which are performed fantastically), and James Young who plays Grandpa Joe in the most loveable of ways; the scenic design (Mark Thompson) can be described as good not great, as it relies heavily on projections for much of the show but still holds some tangible set design that creates a fun Wonka world.
This show is a fun one, and the updated nuances have ensured that children from today can enjoy it as much as children always have in the past. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory can be enjoyed by any and all, and is the perfect way to spend a November night this season.