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‘Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka’ will continue with performances Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m. at Swain Arts Center. The show includes two different casts. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students.
Steve Stav
Contributing writer
Swain County High School’s drama & music program astonished an opening-night audience March 25, filling the Swain Arts Center with a colorful world of imagination that was literally jaw-dropping. The ensemble’s debut of “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka” ticked all the boxes for a great high school musical: confident and charismatic acting — along with clever props and dazzling special effects — envelop well-delivered, classic songs. Most importantly, it was fun. Very fun.
The 1971 Gene Wilder film is so iconic, with a bevy of memorable figures. Swain High meets the daunting challenge of presenting those characters in a live musical, with their own imprint. No mean feat. Doubly so, in fact. “Willy Wonka” features two casts, with a different pair of actors portraying Charlie and Wonka; many — but not all — of the other roles are played by different actors, as well. The lineups alternate performances — the “Fudgemallow Cast” kicked off the show’s run last Friday, and the “Nutarrific Cast” begin the closing weekend this Friday night.
“They’re not cookie-cutter shows,” explained the production’s artistic director, Nicole Huett. “Each actor adds their own interpretation of the role, of course, so it’s really fun.” Huett added that the crew is adding small bits to the set and props almost daily, and the show are naturally evolving; no two performances will be exact copies.
On the Monday after opening weekend, Huett’s giddiness was barely tempered by fatigue. “Wllly Wonka” is an unsurprisingly huge endeavor, with an 80-plus-member cast and crew drawing from the breadth of Swain County Schools (even Pre-K!) as well as a squadron’s worth of adult volunteers.
“I have such a phenomenal creative team, which of course includes the students,” she said. “A bright idea is the right idea,” the director asserted, “and they love to create; when someone gets a great idea, we’ve had the freedom to run with it.”
That creativity extends from a Wonka-themed lobby (where the smell of chocolate wafts through the air as guests peruse souvenirs and candy (Everlasting Gobstoppers, anyone?) to a “wow”-prompting, mid-show sequence and a genuinely hilarious portion of the last act.
It was a triumphant return to a renowned Swain tradition, as the ensemble hadn’t performed a spring musical in two years. Covid kiboshed a much-anticipated production of “The Addams Family.”
Huett recalled that “The great, spooky house sat on the stage for a year… we’re still grieving ‘Addams Family.’ We got all the way to a week before opening, the longest days of rehearsals. And then…” The educator paused a moment before continuing. “It’s exhausting, really, and while they learned from the process… the students didn’t get the payoff of performing after so much work. It was so sad. I didn’t see some of these kids again. They graduated or transferred to another school. But others are still here for ‘Wonka.’ A lot of (drama departments) are still not able to make a comeback, and I’m so grateful that we could.”
On opening night, the talent’s enthusiasm was palpable. Contagious, even. Oompa Loompas were working above their pay grade, threatening to steal the show… before someone else did. It seemed to be the theme of the evening, this raising of the ante from scene to scene.
Two song-segments featuring Candy Man (Cyril Hipolito, in both casts) with Charlie and his friends were especially well-delivered. Revis Robinson portrayed TV reporter Phineous Trout with flair and deftly adapted to a brief technical issue. Charlie’s parents and bedridden grandparents (with a wonderfully hearing-impaired Grandpa George), together with Augustus, Veruca, Violet, Mike TeaVee and oh, yes - Mr. Wonka. Everyone brought their “A” game in breathing new life into these very familiar characters that evening… and it seems unlikely that the cast(s) will remember the other letters of the alphabet during their final performances.
For the uninitiated, obtaining a golden ticket to this remarkable show is highly encouraged. No Wonka Bar necessary.
Visit swainartscenter.com/upcoming for details.