Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
THIS family production is perfect for our times. It is bright and colourful. It has some sparkling performances, terrific orchestration, is wonderfully lit and, above all, it is very, very funny.
The Townsville Choral Society has risen spectacularly to the challenge of this musical which, although first staged in its new form in 2013 in the West End and 2017 on Broadway, really has its musical origins firmly in the 1971 film version, Willa Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There are many interesting contemporary characters and references which bring this musical alive to today’s audience.
But for this reviewer the reminiscences go further back and it is to the 1964 children’s book. This production manages to be an almost perfect realisation of an eight-year-old’s imagination when those magical pages first came alive to me in 1966. The adventures of a young boy called Charlie Bucket and the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka were indeed the stuff that dreams were made of. It is interesting to note that Roald Dhal found his inspiration to write the book based on his own experiences in the 1920s when Cadbury and Rowntree's, then England's two largest chocolate makers, would often try to steal each other’s trade secrets by sending spies, posing as employees, into the other's factory.
For director Alyssa Oliveri, Dahl’s book has been a family favourite, and she has tackled the production with characteristic gusto. She has managed to retain the cartoon-like qualities of the numerous characters, while at the same time reminding us that there was always a tinge of the grotesque in Dahl’s children’s books. For the most part the pace of the production continued at a gre
at speed, only slowed by the longish second act, which was the way the show was written and is no reflection on the manner in which it was directed.
However, like every general, you are only as good as the troops you command and she has had an excellent team both on and offstage.
With vocal direction under the sure and experienced hand of Rachel Cairns and choreography by Suzie Searight, the West End standard orchestra, conducted by music director Mark Smith, must surely stand out to any discerning audience member. He has become a valuable addition to the music scene in Townsville in recent years, and his handling of this 17-piece orchestra (and this difficult music) was exemplary.
Opening night saw the title role of Charlie Bucket played by an extraordinary 10-year-old, Levi Bell. He shares the role on alternate nights with Emily Walker, but it was at the opening night that this young man really impressed. Showing a stage presence and technique way beyond his years, I would not be surprised if he had not had formal training to produce a performance of such high standard. His clear-eyed confidence and ability to project personality and performance across the footlights in such a capable manner won many hearts that night.
A familiar face in Townsville theatre, Luke Reynolds created the exacting role of Willy Wonka – a first major lead musical role for him. It is always difficult to re-create a role where the audience has strong impressions of the original creators. Thankfully, Reynolds’ laid-back (almost casual) approach avoided the creepy pitfalls from the recent Johnny Depp creation and harked back to the genial Gene Wilder interpretation. His was a funny and eccentric interpretation, but a higher energy level would have given him more latitude to go further and create something even more exciting – and in doing so he would probably have had a great deal more fun with it.
As for the rest of the cast, there were some truly sparkling comic performances.
Brett Greenland as Grandpa Joe was a continuous delight and the early scenes he shared with the trio of fellow geriatrics (Barb Shand, Nick Cliffe and Nicole Ireland) were great fun and remained eerily true to the ludicrous spirit of the Dahl original.
In an affecting performance, Michelle Higgins as Mrs Bucket is, of course, the only “ordinary” person in the cast and consequently she really is the audience’s segue into this weird world of Wonkaland.
And then there were the other four (all rather unpleasant) winners of the golden tickets and their respective retinues – all of which continued to add to the continuous comic mayhem.
Familiar faces in many Townsville musical theatre productions for many years, Andrew Higgins and Rachel Cairns played the hysterically funny Bavarians, Augustus Gloop and his mother. Cairns looked as if she was having a whale of time in the comparatively small role, but Higgins (playing an obese 9-year-old) looked for all the world like a pre-pubescent Benny Hill. (I kept expecting him to launch into a rendition of Ernie, The Fastest Milkman in the West). These two attracted enormous appreciative applause for their one number, More of Him to Love.
Veruca Salt is the greedy, spoilt brat Russian ballet-dancer whose father (Glenn McCarthy) can’t deny her anything. Melissa Land – who wants everything “now” – has fun with this and clearly plays the role with enormous relish.
Ryan Domingue and Nikki Quinnen play Violet and her father Mr Beauregarde. In this musical incarnation, Violet is a gum-chewing, rude girl who is an aggressively competitive and fame-hungry Californian wannabe. She displayed a distinctive set of pipes on her show-stopping solo The Queen of Pop.
Mike Teavee (Sam Stewart) becomes a techno-obsessive teen and Mrs Teavee (Jodie Bell) is his doting mother. Stewart, who impressed earlier this year as bad boy Tommy DeVito in Jersey Boys, added another good performance, but in customary fashion Jodie Bell’s performance as Mrs Teavee was a sparkling gem of comic timing. Always adept at entering the stage as a fully-fledged character, we know exactly what space she occupies – true of all her performances.
One cannot see this musical without wondering how the Oompa Loompas are going to be portrayed, and all I can say is that the choices that were made for this production were - in a word - hilarious.
Once again Jamie Schmidt’s lighting design demonstrated why this Townsville man has such an international reputation, while Andre Reynaud’s simple set was perfect for the production. Watch out for the second half projections which literally light up the theatre.
I am not sure that this is best written musical in the world – indeed without the two songs from the original film. The Candy Man and Pure Imagination, the score is not that distinguished, but suits the ongoing development of the plot, such as the zany story is. However, what it lacks in that department, it makes up in every other way to become a truly entertaining musical for the whole family – particularly for those who are familiar with book and the original 1971 musical (forget the recent Tim Burton/Johnny Depp effort).
In summary, I would say grab your ticket because when word gets around of the quality of this production, they are bound to be worth their weight in gold!
Trevor Keeling
Images: Northern Exposure Photography
Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.