Central Kitsap students bringing 'Willy Wonka' to life at district's new performing arts center

SILVERDALE — When Don Fox weaved his way through a legion of Oompa-Loompas on Friday at the Central Kitsap Performing Arts Center, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of youngsters sporting candy-colored neon wigs on their heads.

“They’ve never worn them before, so they’re excited," Fox said.

As manager of the performing arts center and producer for the venue's Aug. 11-14 presentation of Roald Dahl's "Willy Wonka," Fox knows rehearsal time is precious for everyone involved. Roughly 100 students from grades 3 through 12 comprise the cast, with additional students serving as stage crew apprentices or playing in the orchestra.

Add in roughly 100 parents serving as volunteers, and there are 243 people responsible for bringing "Willy Wonka" to life. The 90-minute performance, directed by Gretchen Dru, will feature many of the songs from the 1971 film featuring Gene Wilder, including "Pure Imagination," "The Candyman" and "I've Got a Golden Ticket."

“This is not your typical school play," Fox said. "This is a Broadway-level production for our kids to be in.”

This is Central Kitsap School District's first swing at an all-district musical since the performing arts center opened in 2019 as part of the new Central Kitsap High School construction project. Fox said "Willy Wonka" is an opportunity for the district to show off the 900-seat facility, which recently added a video wall consisting of 25 television screens measuring 85-inches apiece.

"We need big projects that make the community go, ‘Wow I didn’t know that was possible,'" Fox said.

Working in professional theater for two decades and serving as a production manager/lighting designer for the Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker, Fox said seen many of the best performing arts centers in North America, including the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, the Fox Theatre in St. Louis and the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York.

The Central Kitsap Performing Arts Center, Fox believes, meets every need — and then some.

"This space is world-class, it really is," Fox said. "Everything that was put in this space was done right."

Bringing "Willy Wonka" to the stage required months of work. Upwards of 300 students showed up on March 27 for four hours of auditions, which attracted a wide array of students, including some without any theater background.

"We have some kids whose parents brought them to the audition saying, ‘My kid is sort of a fish out of water, this seems perfect for them,'" Fox said. "We have kids that have never done anything on stage and are like, ‘Wow, I never thought I could do something like this.’ And then we’ve got kids that have been in other local productions, school or church productions. We do have a mix.”

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The play features separate ensembles — the Chocolate and Lollipop casts — that will split performance duties Aug. 11-14. For rising eighth-grader Jane Frandsen, who'll attend Ridgetop Middle School, "Willy Wonka" will be her 13th play. Her role is Charlie in the Lollipop cast.

"I'm so excited," Frandsen said. "The stage is so nice."

For Ryder Roark Myers, a rising sixth-grader at Ridgetop and one of two students who'll fill the role of Mike Teavee, "Willy Wonka" will be a debut performance.

“When I learned about auditions, I was just so excited," Roark Myers said. "I didn’t even care if I was going to a lead role. I just wanted to be in the show so badly."

Bella Franco, a rising ninth-grader who attends school virtually, showed up to auditions dressed in a full suit and top hat and earned the role of the title character for the Lollipop cast.

"My first role ever (in 'The Lion King') was not even a speaking role: Ed the hyena, who just sticks his tongue out," Franco said. “Now, I have 92 lines that are mostly paragraphs and I have several singing songs and I’ve never sung a solo before ever. So this is exciting.”

After nearly a month's worth of rehearsals, everyone is eager for opening night to arrive.

"We are going to do our best," said Cameron Shelman, a rising ninth-grader at Olympic High School who'll play Grandpa Joe for the Lollipop cast.

Fox considers "Willy Wonka" a jumping-off point for the Central Kitsap Performing Arts Center and is eager at the opportunity to create a tradition of district-wide projects at the venue.

He said community members who support the project by attending a show are in for a real treat: “Come see what we can do locally when we put our minds to it.”

Tickets are on sale now at ckschools.org for five performances of "Willy Wonka" at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11, 12 and 13, and 2 p.m. on Aug. 13 and 14, at the Central Kitsap Performing Arts Center at Central Kitsap High School.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Central Kitsap's arts center hosting 'Willy Wonka' musical