Experience pure imagination with ALT's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'

Brianna Maestas, Amarillo Globe-News
·6 min read

Amarillo Little Theatre (ALT) brings to life a world of pure imagination with their upcoming musical "Charlie andthe Chocolate Factory," being produced at the ALT mainstage Sept. 7-24.

The production, based on the famous novel by Roald Dahl and David Grieg under the same name, is a collaboration with the ALT Academy. It features a new original score, as well as some familiar and well loved favorites by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, such as "Pure Imagination," "(I've got a) Golden Ticket" and more.

Sabrina Ali, Wyatt Hall, Dennis Humphrey, Graham Moore, Lane Donathan and Hannah Moore star in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Sabrina Ali, Wyatt Hall, Dennis Humphrey, Graham Moore, Lane Donathan and Hannah Moore star in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"This is a new version of this classic tale that we all know. ... When I listen to the music, there are some classic songs like the 'Candy Man' song and 'Pure Imagination,' all of the nostalgic songs that you want to hear from the movie, but then there is a new score with new songs," said Jason Crespin, Artistic Director for the ALT production.

"They have modernized the story to be set nowadays so, for example, Mike Teavee — instead of just obsessing over the TV, he is obsessing over all kinds of electronics," Crespin added. "He is a hacker, and he hacks into one of Willy Wonka's systems, and that is how he gets his Golden Ticket. Veruca is more of a Russian ballerina in this retelling, so these characters are even more heightened, and I think audiences are going to love it."

Wyatt Hall plays the role of Mike Teavee in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Wyatt Hall plays the role of Mike Teavee in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Graham Moore plays Charlie Bucket in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Graham Moore plays Charlie Bucket in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The production follows the well loved story with a modern twist of Charlie Bucket, an imaginative boy with a knack for making something out of nothing, who dreams of acquiring a Golden Ticket to tour Willy Wonka's over-the-top chocolate factory and can’t believe his luck when it actually happens. Fellow contest winners include the gluttonous German, Augustus Gloop; Daddy's spoiled rotten princess, Veruca Salt; chewing gum celebrity, Violet Beauregarde; and over-amped computer hacker, Mike Teavee. They have no idea what they're getting themselves into, as they each learn lessons about selfishness and greed from Willy Wonka, who is not only out of his mind but potentially dangerous.

Hannah Moore portrays Veruca Salt in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Hannah Moore portrays Veruca Salt in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Amarillo Little Theatre presents "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Amarillo Little Theatre presents "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The family friendly production is sure to include mouth-watering visuals that "Must be Believed to be Seen." "Strike that! Reverse it!"

For this production, ALT has pulled all the stops and assembled the sweetest and most imaginative cast. In collaboration with the ALT Academy, 38 Academy students and 20 adults will take the stage to bring this musical to life. Principal roles include Academy student Graham Moore as Charlie Bucket, Dennis Humphrey as Willy Wonka, Michael Jones as Grandpa Joe, and Megan Gore as Mrs. Bucket. The Golden Ticket winners and their parents include Lane Donathan as Augustus Gloop, Shannon Mashburn as Mrs. Gloop, Hannah Moore as Veruca Salt, Nels Bjork as Mr. Salt, Sabrina Ali as Violet Beauregarde, Kyle Gipson as Mr. Beauregarde, Wyatt Hall as Mike Teavee and Sara Pennington-Booher as Mrs. Teavee.

Sabrina Ali plays Violet Beauregarde in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Sabrina Ali plays Violet Beauregarde in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Humphrey, known for some of his ALT starring roles including "Boeing Boeing," "Mamma Mia," "Murders of 1950," and many more, will portray the iconic Willy Wonka and spoke of how the experience has come full circle for him.

"This is such a well known story, and I am so excited we are doing this. ... I watched 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' with Gene Wilder for the first time when I was in the 3rd grade in Chicago, Illinois, and I have been enthralled with the movie ever since then. And now it is a musical, and it is a dream come true to be able to play Willy Wonka on stage," Humphrey said.

Dennis Humphrey portrays the character Willy Wonka in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Dennis Humphrey portrays the character Willy Wonka in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"We are leaning more towards the Gene Wilder story visually but with some modernized aspects. There is also a lot of hype with the new film coming out that will be the Willy Wonka prequel coming soon in December, so this is perfect timing. And I feel this is something that everyone knows and loves and will be excited to see live," Humphrey added.

Lane Donathan portrays Augustus Gloop in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Lane Donathan portrays Augustus Gloop in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The cast also includes Cinda Alexander, Claire Attaway, Ikaris Bard, Kennedy Cardenas, Christy Corder, Halyn Derington, Laken Derington, Alessandro Dieguez, Lindsy Donathan, Piper Gore, Colton Harada, Saturn Horton, Kallie Huckabay, Tia Hunt, Colby Hurt, Emerson Johnston, Dillon Kizarr, Kristin McCarrell, Ivy McCarrell, Lincoln McCarrell, Kryss Miller, Jace Norris, Declan Oliver, Treva Oller, Sean Pritchard, Nicholas Shaffer, Michael Villarreal, Wesley Willburn, Jeff Wyrick and Ellison Wyrick.

The Oompa Loompa ensemble includes some of of the academy's littlest talents with Piper Carlson, Brooklyn Comer, Octavia Coulson, Wyatt Dodson, Colin Gaitan, Jaxson Gaitan, Ruby Graves, Evelyn Johnston, Addie Munkres, Libby Reynolds, Mary Caroline Saied, Olivia Tidmore, Bentley Tobias, Benjamin Vasquez, Alexis Williams and Grady Wyrick.

Moore, portraying Charlie Bucket, spoke about the excitement he has for the community to see the production and how he hopes the fun that he has had acting as Charlie will shine through on stage.

Graham Moore plays Charlie Bucket in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Graham Moore plays Charlie Bucket in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"All of my cast mates have been putting in so much work. Although I am the main character, it's not me that will make the show. This is really a group effort to make the story magical. ... This has been really fun during rehearsals, being able to be with my friends on stage and act as Charlie; I am really excited for people to see our hard work," Moore said.

Along with Crespin as director, music direction will be by Jennifer Akins and choreography by Nikki Harada. Krystal Burns serves as assistant director, with Harrison Stringer as production assistant and Kallie Huckabay as dance captain.

In addition to the show, ALT has prepared some local collaborations, bringing a little bit of Wonka's Factory to everyone. ALT hosted a "Golden Ticket Contest" in partnership with Amarillo National Bank, where five winners won a four-pack of tickets to the showing. Those winners were announced Thursday.

Michael Jones portrays Grandpa Joe in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Michael Jones portrays Grandpa Joe in Amarillo Little Theatre's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

ALT also announced with this show their season-long partnership with the Amarillo Public Library to offer 10 tickets for two of the production showtimes, where community members with a library card can "check out" admission tickets at the Downtown Library location to see the production for free.

"We want to make sure that theater is accessible to everyone who wants to come. I personally think the best golden ticket is a library card," Crespin said. "As a kid growing up in a library, I read so many books that took me on so many adventures, and it didn't cost me a thing. So, this whole season beginning with 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' we will have 20 tickets available for anyone at the library for free."

This production will have 10 tickets available for the 7:30 p.m. showing Sept. 14 and the 2:30 p.m. showing Sept. 16.

ALT has also partnered with Brick & Elm to offer specialty desserts with four local restaurants, including Savór, Crush, Twenty606 Wine & Bistro, and O.H.M.S. Each restaurant will have a themed desert available during the running of the show to get all community members ready to visit Wonka's Factory with ALT.

Wyatt Hall, Hannah Moore, Graham Moore, Lane Donathan, Sabrina Ali and Dennis Humphrey star in Amarillo Little Theatre's presentation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
Wyatt Hall, Hannah Moore, Graham Moore, Lane Donathan, Sabrina Ali and Dennis Humphrey star in Amarillo Little Theatre's presentation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

This production is rated PG. The musical will be held at the ALT Allen Shankles Mainstage, located at 2019 Civic Circle. Tickets can be reserved by phone during ALT business hours at (806) 355-9991 or online at www.amarillolittletheatre.org.

Showtimes include:

Sept. 7, 14 and 21 at 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 at 8 p.m.

Sept. 16, 17, and 24 at 2:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Enjoy a sweet treat with ALT's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'