Morinville High stages sweet treat

How many of us would like to win a lottery with a golden ticket, a passport to untold riches and a magical world dotted with a chocolate river, giant mushrooms, cupcakes and lollipops?

If you have a sweet tooth, it’s the ultimate castle in the sky.

But every fantasy that morphs into reality has a price to pay, just as Charlie Bucket and his four cohorts are about to find out in Morinville Community High School’s upcoming Christmas musical of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka, running Dec. 8 to 11.

In this stage adaption from the classic film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, a hallucinogenic trip of self-discovery, five children are deliberately tempted into breaking the rules, thereby earning their just desserts.

Willy Wonka, the world-renowned reclusive candy maker has put five golden tickets into chocolate bars. The five lucky children who obtain a ticket receive a tour of his well-guarded chocolate factory and a lifetime supply of sweets.

In this two-hour ensemble production, the eccentric and at times sadistic Wonka has set traps for each of the five children, an ultimate test of character that targets individual weaknesses.

Four of the children are little horrors who violate the rules of Wonka’s factory. Augustus Gloop (Dillon Sabo-Bassette) is an insatiable food machine; Veruca Salt’s (Alyssa Turnbull) petulant greed knows no bounds; Violet Beauregarde (Katrina Thrussell) is a poster girl for rudeness and Mike Teavee (Darian Pitre) worships technology to the exclusion of everything else.

Only the impoverished Charlie Bucket (Sean Bulger), with his upbeat personality and love for family, displays the redeeming qualities of honesty and integrity that Wonka seeks.

“The last song says it all as it talks about truth with its message of honesty and goodness. It’s not about being selfish like Veruca or rude like Violet or self-absorbed like Mike. It’s about the importance of putting family first, taking care of them and making candy dreams come true,” said director Vanessa Re.

Rory Turner’s Wonka is a mix of the charismatic Gene Wilder and the more dangerous and scary Johnny Depp character. “Rory can slip from being funny to dark to mysterious in one line. And he can move his body like it’s made out of rubber. He’s so good at physical comedy.”

For Bulger, the role of cheerful Bucket is a role that fits like a second skin. “Like Bucket, he’s always upbeat and brings positivity to the cast.”

And when Bulger belts out the Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley score, “his voice sounds genuine and sincere. When he sings, I stop multi-tasking. I pay attention more.”

Re also has nothing but praise for the hard working and dedicated 35-member cast and crew who appear to thrive on doing extra. For instance Keegan Mabbutt, who plays the tenderhearted Grandpa Joe, also worked on the technology that shrinks Mike to a six-inch height.

And the Oompa Loompas, headed by choreographer Kassie Hopkins from 3rd Street Beat, Edmonton’s foremost hip hop studio, booked extra rehearsal time during the Remembrance Day holidays to nail their moves.

“We’re trying to keep it light, even when Mr. Bucket loses his job. This is a fun family show.”

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