From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli – 26 January

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory – the New Musical – playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Exhibition Street, is a sheer joy to behold. It is one of those enchanting shows which sends you home feeling you could take on the world – and win!

 

BASED on Roald Dahl’s children’s novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which was first published in 1964, the musical plot revolves around the adventures of young Charlie Bucket and a ‘Golden Ticket’, together with his whimsical grandpa, Joe (now played by John O’May who has taken-over from Tony Sheldon); an eclectic cavalcade of loveable characters, including Charlie’s grandparents who spend their lives in bed; and the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka, played to perfection in the Melbourne stage production by American stage star, Paul Slade Smith, who was part of the original Broadway production. With his impeccable comic timing and ludicrously rubber body, it is difficult to imagine another actor in the role. Not a gesture, a pause, or a look, is wasted. It is a performance to savour and remember.

Since publication, Dahl’s book has been adapted into two major motion pictures: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) starring Gene Wilder and a splendid supporting cast; and 2005, with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Noah Taylor, and an equally illustrious supporting cast. Both films are beguiling and loved by children and adults.

The musical version has been given several incarnations. This production from producer John Frost and the Gordon Frost Organisation, is a delicious theatrical treat featuring songs from the original film, including Pure Imagination, The Candy Man, and I’ve Got a Golden Ticket, along with a brand new, toe-tapping, ear-tickling score. The show is filled with some brilliantly clever jokes and witty puns for the adults, and eye-popping magic which keeps the children (and parents) riveted to the stage action. The Oompa-Loompas are a theatrical delight and cunningly conceived and executed.

Even for seasoned practitioners, it is impossible not to be swept along with the ingenious theatrical tricks and magical effects which abound in the second act of the show. The stage is a glorious spectacle of mesmerising colour. This production is an indicator of how much the theatre has developed in the last 40-plus years. The degree of technical sophistication, in particular the final optical illusion, is a stroke of artistic genius which left me wondering: “How?”

Curiously, the original story was inspired by Roald Dahl’s childhood experience of chocolate companies during his schooldays in the 1920s when Cadbury and Rowntree were England’s two foremost chocolate producing companies. Regularly, they sent children gift packages in exchange for their product opinion. Market-place competition was fierce and product secrets were closely guarded. Subterfuge was rife and the planting of employee spies in the opposition company was not unusual. It was a combination of this secrecy and the elaborate, often gigantic, machines in the factories which inspired Dahl to write the story. Originally, the role of Charlie was written for a black child but changed on the advice of his agent who feared the public would reject the concept.

Australia has always been well served for musical theatre performers; however, in the last 25 years there has been an exceptional explosion of outstanding talent, including Lucy Maunder who plays Charlie’s mother, Mrs. Bucket. Others in the principal roles include: Jake Fehily as the Bavarian sausage eater, Augustus Gloop, and Octavia Barron Martin as his doting mother, Mrs Gloop; Karina Russell and Stephen Anderson as two over-the-top Russians, Veruca Salt and Mr. Salt; Jayme-Lee Hanekom plays the Queen of Pop, Violet Beauregard, with Madison McKoy as her father, Mr Beauregard; and Harrison Riley and Jayde Westaby are Mike Teavee, and his funny, scene-stealing mother, Mrs Teavee.

The ensemble in this production is especially tight and still as fresh as the opening night in Sydney.

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre until 2 February. Please, do yourself a favour and buy a ticket! It is a musical which is guaranteed to gladden your heart and reawaken some forgotten childhood memories.

Roland can be heard humming show tunes every Monday morning – 10.30 – on radio 3BA and can be contacted on [email protected].