Willy Wonka, Brandon Savage, disguised as a candy shop owner meets Charlie Bucket, Falcon Franco, in Palo Alto Players’ ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’
Palo Alto Players is staging a deliciously imaginative “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Although it’s different from the 1971 film with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, this version is still based on the Roald Dahl novel. It has a book by David Greig with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
It features an energetic, likable cast of some 30 people of all ages. Among the youngest is fifth grader Falcon Franco (alternating with Russell Nakagawa) as the title character, Charlie Bucket, who lives in a town next to Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. No one has been inside to see what happens there.
Charlie also is a regular visitor to the candy store that sells Wonka’s chocolate products and is run by the candy man, who’s really Willy Wonka (Brandon Savage).
The candy man announces he will close the store, but five chocolate bars have a golden ticket that entitles the lucky winner to visit the factory.
Charlie would love to strike gold, but he doesn’t have any money. His single mother, Mrs. Bucket (Sarah Jebian), barely makes a living at a laundry and must support both herself and Charlie as well as his four bedridden grandparents.
As luck would have it, though, Charlie finds a dollar and buys the very last bar, which has the fifth ticket. He and his Grandpa Joe (Steven Guire Knight), along with the other four winning kids and their parents, enter the factory.
There they see fantastical sights and creatures like the Oompa Loompas and learn that much of what happens requires imagination.
Although everyone in the cast sings, acts and dances well, the standouts are Franco as Charlie, Savage as Willy, Jebian as Mrs. Bucket and Knight as Grandpa Joe.
This production is well directed by artistic director Patrick Klein, who also designed the set, projections and additional video content. The energetic choreography is by Stacy Reed with musical direction by Richard Hall and vocal direction by D. Asa Stern.
Greet Jaspaert deserves credit for the costumes, while the hair, wigs and makeup were designed by Karen Althoff. Lighting is by Pamila Gray with sound by Chris Beer.
Suitable for all ages and running just over 2 1/2 hours with an intermission, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will continue through Sept. 22 at the Lucie Stern Theater (which has comfy new seats), 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.
For tickets and information call (650) 329-0891 or visit paplayers.org.
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