There’s so much time so little to do! Wait a minute… strike that! Reverse it! Make some time and find your way to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland this December! The reimagined Roald Dahl classic is now appearing in all its darkly delicious and devious glory on the CPM stage as their winter offering for the 2024/2025 season! Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans (and live percussion musician Lisa Wood) and Choreography by James Hunnicutt, this zany, cautionary tale is the perfect sweet treat just in time for all those December holidays!
With a candy-coated dream team at the helm— the aforementioned Hunnicutt, Evans, and Hunnicutt— the children of CPM are getting quite the professional experience when it comes to enthusiastically working their way through musical numbers, acting scenes, and dance routines. Choreographer James Hunnicutt’s finest moment is during “The Queen of Pop” where he puts some hip-hop and pop-slide moves on display for the dancing Divas (Katelynn Cockey, Jere Amanda Edwards, Colette Halcott) and the Beauregarde bunch (Mrs. and Violet herself!) Evans’ works wonders when it comes to all of the complex patter-race moments, particularly for the Willy Wonka character during “Strike That! Reverse It.” and blend large group harmonies beautifully for when the ensemble is singing along to the iconic “The Candy Man” number. Liz Boyer Hunnicutt has delivers a deft hand of deadpan humor to the characters who really utilize it in this production— like Grandpa George— and keeps the calmer acting scenes moving an expertly seasoned pace so that the show flows as smoothly as a river of chocolate— no gloop-ups for this bunch!
In addition to the trifecta of leadership, Diane M. Smith (as the show’s TD and company’s Artistic Director) is bringing a bunch of whacky color pops together with her scenic design and the big moving furnishings— like the mixing machine or the rolling bed that features room for all four grandparents— all of which is painted pristinely by Scenic Artist Laura Miller. (Extra-special nod to SLShowTech for the bombastically amusing productions, particularly with the candy-colored steam-puffs popping away out of the factory smokestacks when they are gathered in front of the chocolate factory’s exterior.) If there’s a lone issue to be mentioned with the show’s overall production, it’s the microphones. While it’s crucial that these brilliantly talented young performers have the mic-system for amplification, at Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, the mics were running incredibly hot. This resulted in extraordinarily loud bursts, particularly from featured performers who have robust, powerful voices (even without amplification) and created jumbles of sound that were difficult to hear because they were so loud. Technical troubles aside with the microphones, the show’s technical components— including Tyrell Stanley’s luminous lighting design (with all sorts of effects to enhance the magic of the chocolate factory tour) are pretty impressive.
And let’s not forget the colorful sartorial selection of costumes coordinated by Tiffany Lynn Zellner. The Oompa Loompas in particular, who are wearing matching denim overalls, vibrantly colored wigs in nearly every color of the rainbow, and pastel-muted rainbow striped shirts, are just one such wondrous example. Zellner provides matching eggplant-amethyst velvet-style tracksuits for Violet and Mrs. Beauregard, distressed patchwork clothing for the poor Bucket family, and the most lavishly outlandish looking pink tutu and faux-mink for Veruca Salt. Zellner has the imaginative component of the show in mind for all of the costumes and wigs that she puts on display.
Enthusiasm and talent go hand in hand at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland and the cast of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is no exception. Ensembles and Squirrels and Oompa Loompas and ‘Coffee Cart Kids’ (think grown-up overseer Oompa Loompas in green aprons) populate the stage and make all of the scenes inside the Chocolate Factory extra delightful. The ensemble (Caroline Anderson, Chloe Anderson, Bea Auvil, Zoey Cashin, Lucas Castro-Mendez, Katelynn Cockey, Miranda Cockey, Bleu Cooper, Lucy Dalton, Luke DiBello, Jere Amanda Edwards, Colette Halcott, Brady Katzenberger, Tempi Oppel, Riley Sigal, Daphne Smith, Amelia Campbell Trageser,) are singing and dancing their talented hearts out with great indefatigable energy, particularly when it comes to barnstorming the chocolate shop in the early section of the show and during the rowdier numbers inside the chocolate factory.
The Oompa Loompa bunch (Luke DiBello, Zoey Cashin, Caroline Anderson, Lucas Castro-Mendez, Lucy Dalton, Colette Halcott, Tempi Oppel, Riley Sigal, Daphne Smith,) are excellent additions to all of the ‘Contest Winner’ song-send-offs, especially “Vidiots”, which is the number that dispels Mike Teavee. Several of the Oompa Loompa bunch double up as other characters throughout the performance— like Zoey Cashin, playing Jerry Jubilee opposite of Bea Auvil, who plays Cherry Sundae. Cashin and Auvil, whose characters are pun-plays on ice-cream-delights, serve as the energetically enthused television reporters who keep the world of Wonka (and by proxy, the audience) up to date on just who has won a golden ticket. Their charming cheekiness is perfect for these news anchor roles. You’ll also spy Luke DiBello doubling up as Grandpa George and you’ll laugh until your sides hurt when he’s delivering his zippy, quippy one-liners in the Bed-O-Grandparents with sincere deadpan sarcasm. DiBello, along with Chloe Anderson, Amelia Campbell Trageser, and Xander Bell (playing Grandma Josephine, Grandma Georgina, and Grandpa Joe, respectively) blend their voices harmoniously to provide excellent background blends during “A Letter From Charlie” and “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket.”
Performing a wonderful imitation of a 1950’s house wife, Gabrielle Gertner as Mrs. Teavee is giving a lot of added humors for all of the of-age audience members— particularly with her ‘mommy juice’ and the way she sways and stumbles about trying to deal with her tiny tyrant of a child. Gertner has a marvelous voice, which features quite the soprano sound during “That Little Man of Mine” and its reprise. Gertner exists in a step out of time (intentionally set in the libretto) from the other ‘contest winner parents’ and her mannerisms, cadence, and overall delivery of this very ‘at-her-wits-end’ and jaded mom character are sublime. You get a stellar performance from Ronald Gusso, playing the odious Mike Teavee as well, though he could not be any more bratty and modern, especially by comparison to his ‘yesteryore’ mom character. Gusso delivers the epitome of toddler-tyrant behavior in a fully-grown-tween character and it’s hysterical and a little frightening. There’s rage-ball energy that fuels Gusso’s performance and his character’s sense of entitlement leads him into every scene, with bonus humor coming from his physicality when he fails to complete the invisible-imaginary-challenge and flops about on the floor.
If you want screaming, entitle brat, with the most wicked, blood-curdling tantrum-scream you’ve ever heard— enter Mars Bell as Veruca Salt. Bell is a scream-queen diva in the role, throwing fit after fit, as the Veruca character attempts to get her way. Mars Bell has delightful ballet moves when they dance about during “Veruca’s Nutcracker Sweet!” and watching the expression on their face as the number goes from entitled charm to terrifying disaster is sublime. Holding his own against Bell’s outbursts, Teagle Walker as Mr. Salt delivers a powerful Russian accent that is both consistent and audibly intelligible and his entire number, “When Veruca Says” is just a good laugh as he desperately tries to keep his daughter pleased.
Double down on those pop sensations, you’ve got Kaitlyn Bell and Lily Anderson coming up on team Beauregarde. While Bell plays Mrs. Beauregarde, truly promoting her kiddo like one of those helicopter-almond-Karen-moms who knows what’s best, Anderson is belting her face off during “The Queen of Pop” throwing around sass, class, and attitude. Anderson delivers this Violet character with more than just a sense of brattiness; there’s an ‘earned entitlement’ more of a Queen vibe to her portrayal. With character’s like Mike Teavee and Veruca Salt you get bratty monster vibes, with Anderson’s Violet, you get snotty, entitled, mean-girl-queen-B vibes. Both Bell and Anderson are brilliant in their initial number and the way Anderson tumbles about during “You Got Whatcha Want” is hilarious. Take note of Bell’s response when she returns to the stage at the very end of that number, the look on her face and her whole body-language delivery is darkly humorous.
Jordan Myers and RJ Oakey get to tackle the tricky Bavarian accent and manage to do so with great gusto. Perfectly said for the Augustus and Mrs. Gloop characters. (Though strike that! Reverse it— as it’s Myers who plays Mrs. Gloop and Oakey who plays Augustus!) There is this undeniable glee in Oakey’s performance, every time he gets a moment to express his joy of eating and this earnest pride radiating from Myers’ at just how perfectly precious her little boy is. “More of Him to Love” is Myers’ moment to shine and she carries her Bavarian speaking accent through into her song with great clarity. Watching Oakey in the chocolate tube-pipe at the top of “Auf Wiedersehen Augustus Gloop” is also really funny.
Where there’s a dreamy-eyed young lad, making wishes on pure imagination for a better life, there’s a desperately concerned, loving, and tender maternal figure— in this case, Mrs. Bucket (Miranda Cockey), keeping watch with cherubic lullaby-style songs and a careworn smile. While the Mrs. Bucket character only appears in the first act of the show (Cockey is featured in the ensemble as a Squirrel as well in the second act), Cockey makes the most of being grounded, presenting a mature character presence, and letting her songbird voice radiate warmly during both numbers in which she sings. You hear her adding mostly backup with the grandparents during “A Letter from Charlie Bucket” but her golden moment of vocal purity and bliss is during “If Your Father Were Here.” Cockey balances this number with bittersweet, heartfelt intentions, and a truly glorious sound. Her interactions with Charlie come from this earnest, caring place deep within the heart of the mother character.
For as maternal and nurturing as Cockey’s Mrs. Bucket is, Xander Bell’s Grandpa Joe is that zany, crazy, and just all-together silly. Bell, who has extraordinary physicality to offer to the role, tumbles out of bed with lanky limbs rolling in every direction and it’s just a proper scream of a good time. Whenever he launches off into one his anecdotes, you get this fully invested tale that you never know quite how it’s going to end. Bell has a beautiful voice that lends itself nicely to “Charlie, You and I” and a great deal of physical and emotional enthusiasm to offer the character once Grandpa Joe gets up on his feet and headed off to the great adventure that is the super-secret tour of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Bell and Noah Anderson (playing the titular role) work extremely well together and despite only being a few years apart in age, both of them convince you that they really could be grandfather and grandson in their relationship dynamic.
With a voice big enough to swallow the whole chocolate factory, a plucky personality that could outlast any gobstopper, Noah Anderson is resplendently radiant in the role of Charlie Bucket. The effervescence radiating off of Anderson right from jump street is highly infectious, super contagious, and engages the audience with wanting him to succeed. For as down in the dumps as Anderson’s Charlie feels, he never lets the character lose sight of hope or gratitude. And when Anderson patter-sings his way through “Willy Wonka” it’s quite the impressive and astonishing feat. “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” has all of the gusto and panache of true protagonist triumph, delivered with such a powerful vocal punch you’ll easily be bowled over. And when Anderson pairs up vocally with Willy Wonka (Ehtan Howard) at the end of the performance during “The View From Here”, the vocal duet of this pairing is better than any Whipple-Scrumptious Fudge-Mallow Delight!
As for the purple-hatted, candy-making, sanity-faking chocolatier himself, Ethan Howard does a stupendous job with the character of Willy Wonka. He has zany moments, he has off-the-cuff moments, he has sincere and grounded moments. And boy oh boy does that kid have energy. Pattering all the way with clarity, speed, and full-blown intensity through “Strike That! Reverse It!” (…and then some…) you get the clear impression that Howard could be Willy Wonka. Good clean vocals, excellent articulation, and a sense of silliness that permeates the character every step of the way, even when he’s angry, especially when he’s bellowing, Howard does an incredible job with this complex and versatile role. Howard’s physicality is as on par as his vocal capabilities making for a truly imaginative experience.
So what are you waiting for? There’s only a few golden tickets remaining to this wondrous production— seriously, several of the remaining performances are already sold out! There’s so little to see and so much time to see it— wait, STRIKE THAT! REVERSE IT! Get your tickets (while you can!) to see Charlie and The Chocolate Factory this season at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland; it’s truly the sweetest treat of the season!
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory plays through December 15th 2024 with Children’s Playhouse of Maryland in the Lecture Hall of the Administration Building at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus— 7201 Rossville Boulevard in Baltimore, MD. For tickets call the box office at (443) 840-2426 or purchase them online.
