Willy Wonka, Jr. Performance Is Magic

“They just keep getting better and better” – that was the consensus of audience members following the presentation of Willy Wonka, Jr., held on April 24 in RSPA Panther Hall. From Nagasaki Dust, to You Can’t Take It With You, to Into the Woods, and now, Willy Wonka, Jr., the performances atsy Ranney School seem to improve with every production, showcasing the many talents of Ranney students, at every age.

Presented by the Lower School, Willy Wonka, Jr. took months to prepare, but when the curtains opened on opening night, and the performers stepped onto the stage, it all seemed worth it. Directed by Lower School music teacher Lillianne Torrente, and co-directed by Connie Congemi, students kept the audience of parents, friends and teachers mesmerized.

Willy Wonka, Jr. was adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy A. McDonald, with words and music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. It is based on the well known children’s book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl.

Synopsis
Willy Wonka is the owner of a magical and mysterious chocolate factory. Wonka creates a contest to find a successor to take over his factory – a person who shares that "bright spark" needed to carry on his legacy and “world of wonder.” Five lucky people who find Golden Tickets inside Wonka bars will win a tour of the chocolate factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate. A reporter, Phineous Trout, follows the contest as it unfolds and the children who eventually end up winning the five Golden Tickets. One of those children is Charlie Bucket, a young boy from a poor but loving family, who is eternally optimistic, despite his circumstances. The children and their parents, along with Charlie and his Grandpa Joe make their way to the Willy Wonka factory, where they begin a strange and magical tour, including meeting the Oompa-Loompas. The story progresses through a series of humorous occurrences where each child, with the exception of Charlie, is eliminated from the factory as a result of either his/her greed, gluttony, selfishness or obsessions. At the conclusion of the tour Charlie thanks Wonka for the tour, admits to tasting the Fizzy Lifting Drink and breaking the rules – something none of the other children had done. Wonka finally reveals that the tour was actually a test of character and only Charlie has succeeded. He proclaims Charlie as his successor as Charlie's family joins them at Wonka's factory.

Director - Lillianne Torrente
Co-Director - Connie Congemi
Faculty Assistants - Barbara Levine, JoAnn Petrantis, Bridget Looney
Stage Manager - Tess Nielson
Stage Crew - Jood Ani, Kaitlyn Bovino, Evelyn Giovine, Anike Oladeji, Mariel Pearl, Alexa Volpe
Lighting and Sound Design - Kevin Cotter
Lighting and Sound Crew - Eric Chiang, Philip Allen
Set Design - Barbara Levine
Set Design Crew - Rachel Staats, Aidan Denver-Moore, Olivia Nisbet, Veronica Risucci, Skylar Bradley, Alanna Boland, Caroline Billyard
Costume Design - Laurie Bender

Cast
Willy Wonka - Karl Brand
Mr. Buckett/Oompa Loompa - Jerome Cohen
Mrs. Bucket/Oompa Loompa - Audra Smires
Charlie Bucket - Tessa Payer
Grandpa Joe - Jacob Wahba
Grandma Josephina/Oompa Loompa - Katrina Triolo
Grandma Georgina/Oompa Loompa - Katie Vates
Grandpa George/Oompa Loompa - Sana Zaidi
Phineous Trout/Oompa Loompa - Shruthi Vaidyaselvan
Jamie/Oompa Loompa - Sophia Jackman
Matilda/Oompa Loompa - Ruchi Raval
Augustus Gloop - Sela Britton
Mrs. Gloop - Elizabeth Paasche
Violet Beauregarde - Sallie Haas
Mrs. Beauregarde - Natalie Lombardi
Mike Teavee - Michelle Krameisen
Mrs. Teavee - Lily Thacher
Veruca Salt - Elizabeth Rennie
Mrs. Salt - Aeslyn Vlahos

Ensemble: 4th Grade Oompa Loopas
Helena Allegra, Samantha Bender, Alanna Boland, Leigh Brandt, Anna Csiky, Aidan Denver-Moore, James Donaghy, Julek Ferenc, Michael Ingulli, Markar Krikorian, Rebekah Lo, Pooja Nayyar, Olivia Nisbet, Ayodele Oladeji, Jilian Ross, Nicholas Ross, Evan Schultz

For additional information on all Ranney School news, please contact the Communications Department at communications@ranneyschool.org.