Pure Imagination

The Olney Central College stage has once again provided for a spring musical showcasing local talent, meeting public appeal, and allowing for some sweet sensationalism. If you know me, or follow thing blog at all you will know that I am a bit of a musical nerd. This year’s production of Willy Wonka has mixed two of my very favorite things; Children’s Literature and musical theatre. (I bet you didn’t know I was a children’s lit fan.)

I will begin by stating that I was not looking forward to this year’s choice. I have seen Willy Wonka on stage twice and I found it rather abysmal. But in the spirit of supporting the arts I reconciled my feelings with any theatre nerd’s mantra, “Well, at least it’ll sell tickets.” My two previous experiences were middle school productions, the second being an exclusively 5^th grade cast. I’m not about to criticize the young performers for their interpretation, or lack there of, but I left each production feeling cheated of the experience I had set myself up for. Sure it was pretty and colorful, and I guess that is all the grandparents in the audience expected. If you are considering doing Willy Wonka for your own youth musical please allow me to quote Wonka himself, “No. Stop. Don’t.” This show requires adults who have the ability to express satire and sarcasm.

In anticipation of Olney’s production of Willy Wonka I was already setting the bar quite low. But why? After all, if Broadway extravaganzas can be made of "The Lion King" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," then surely it could be done with "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," the slightly sinister and borderline psychedelic 1964 book/1971 movie about the misadventures of rude kids touring the wildest candy-making plant ever devised. Right?

Of course, right. I guess all it took was a mature cast to understand that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory had absolutely nothing to do with chocolate at all. Author Roald Dahl provided a classic good vs. evil story that used children as the villains. This was a highly criticized concept at the time of the books publication. A children’s book with children portraying the less than desirable qualities of life and morality…genius. There are also subtle overtones of predestination, “The meek shall inherit the earth,” and of course the power of positive thinking.

To our local cast I say, “Well done.” If I were to sum up our local production in one word it would be endearing. Nathan, Will, Neita, Keegan, Ivy, Austin, Bill and every member of the cast step on to the stage and disappear from their own lives and for just a few hours help create a better outlook on life. After all, there is no life I know to compare with pure imagination.