In one of the first amateur productions available to the public, Malibu Middle and High School will premiere “Willy Wonka,” the stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s classic, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” this Thursday.
When Dahl published “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in 1964, it was a fond nod to what was otherwise a horrible childhood boarding school experience. In a reprieve from the usual beatings, hazing and humiliations suffered daily, the students at Repton Public School in Kent, England were occasionally sent samples from the famous Cadbury Chocolate Company and asked to rate them.
These memories prompted Dahl to write a fantastic tale of a poor young boy, Charlie Bucket, who wins the opportunity to tour the mysterious chocolate factory of Willy Wonka, along with four other lucky kids, all of whom seem to be poster children for the Seven Deadly Sins.
Charlie marvels at the wonders of the chocolate factory while his companions misbehave to the point of bizarre and appropriate demises. In the end, Charlie’s goodness is rewarded unexpectedly while karma is visited upon the others.
Dahl’s book was an instant hit and eventually made into a film version starring Gene Wilder in 1971 and re-adapted with Johnny Depp in the title role in 2005. Rights to a stage version, adapted by Leslie Bricusse and Tim McDonald, have only recently become available.
“When Musical Theatre International said five years ago this show would soon be up, I was so excited,” MHS drama teacher and director Brigette Leonard said. “Finally, we get to take it on and it is just magic.”
The stage adaptation uses all the songs from the original films, including the Oscar-nominated “Candy Man,” plus new ones by Bricusse and Anthony Newley, who together penned two of England’s most celebrated musicals, “Stop the World-I Want to Get Off” and “The Roar of the Greasepaint-the Smell of the Crowd.”
With the gravitas of the much-loved book and two successful films behind the project, creating the appropriate magic for a stage adaptation was a challenge, Leonard said.
“There is huge expectation since the audience will know the story so well,” she said. “But with lighting effects, a great bubble machine and some terrific talent, I think it’s going to be great.”
During rehearsal Leonard herds 29 students around the stage; she also designed the costumes herself.
“I specifically wanted my Oompa Loompas to look just like the film version,” she said.
The Oompa Loompas, who, Leonard said, act as “a sort of a Greek Chorus,” are another of Dahl’s fantastical inventions-tiny factory workers loyal to Willy Wonka, who have engendered controversy since their inception.
Dahl was criticized for his “astonishing insensitivity” in describing them as black “pygmies” and the 2005 film version was excoriated for choosing to hire one actor to play all the Oompa Loompas, rather than giving jobs to more actors of small stature.
Like all of Dahl’s children’s books, “there is a darker side to ‘Willy Wonka’ in the sarcastic dialogue,” Leonard said. “It’s somewhat adult. The ending is not about happily-ever-after and there is a morality tale there.”
Leonard chose to cast both Middle School and High School students, with the title role of Wonka being played by 10th grader Orrin Whalen.
“I see my characterization as being sort of between the two film versions,” Whalen said. “Not as sweet as Gene Wilder but not as creepy as Johnny Depp” (who was compared in press accounts to a terrifyingly nice Michael Jackson).
“The role of Willy Wonka is sort of ambiguous,” Whalen continued, who is considering a technical career in theater. “The bratty kids are stereotypical but you’re never quite sure with Wonka.”
Eighth grader Hana Giraldo plays Veruca Salt, the spoiled daddy’s girl who sings “I Want It Now!”
“I had to search for my ‘inner’ Veruca,” Giraldo said. “She’s really nasty, and she ends up going down the garbage chute.”
Seventh grader Emma Sittig gets to play the gender-switching role of Charlie, the poor but good boy who ends up winning it all.
“The hardest part of this show is getting one hundred percent from the whole cast at the same time,” Sittig said. “But when everyone is trying real hard, it’s a real show. I think we will get a wonderful reaction from the audience.”
As an Oompa Loompa, 11-year-old Samantha Gilliams said she is just waiting to “put my foot in my costume” to spark the enchantment of the show.
“The hardest part of the rehearsals was waiting for the lighting effects,” she said. “But now, it’s just going to be perfect!”
Performances for “Willy Wonka” take place Jan. 31 through Feb. 3. Reserved seats are $10 for students and seniors and $15 for adults, and can be purchased online at the MHS Web site, www.malibuhigh.smmusd.org. Any remaining seats, if available, will be sold at the door before each performance.