Brisbane review - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: outrageously good musical entertainment

By Lilian Harrington

Production: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Original Writer: Roald Dahl; Book by: David Greig

Music: Marc Shaiman; Lyrics: Scott Wittman

Songs from the Motion Picture: Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley

Company: Redcliffe Musical Theatre (R.M.T.)

Location: Redcliffe Entertainment Centre, Downs St. Redcliffe Q 4020

Season: March 21 - 30 at 7 30 pm and Matinees at 2 pm

Bookings: try booking/ Charlie and the chocolate factory.

info@redcliffeentertainmentcentre.com.au  or call: 07 3480 6280

The auditorium was as noisy as fans heard at a football match, and there were a lot of whoops and roars of delight from the Redcliffe audience as Redcliffe Musical Theatre (R.M.T),under the direction of Madeleine Johns, and musical director Rhonda Davidson - Irwin, introduced the cast for the evening performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Redcliffe Entertainment Centre; With a large cast of both RMT adults and juniors from ROAR  Academy, there had to be several understudies for each starring role. In this performance, the leads were Anthony Van Stram, (Willie Wonka) and Auden Ryan (Charlie Bucket). Despite difficulties caused by recent Cyclone Alfred leading up to opening night, the show opened on time!

This version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that R.M.T. have used is the American Broadway version, but director Madeleine Johns, has based both the Bucket family and Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory in London, in keeping with the original Roald Dahl story. However, key references such as “candy” have been kept in, but English terms such as sweets or lollies weren’t used, because it was important to honour the script. The musical tells of five children who are given the chance to look over the Wonka Chocolate Factory after they have won a prized golden bar of Wonka Chocolate. The themes that Dahl included are: comedy, horror, death, poverty, greed and innocence. For example, some of the children who’ve won the chocolate bars disappear, or end up changed, as a result of their misbehaviour and failure to follow the rules on the factory tour.   

This musical calls for fast technical changes and sets dropped in on flies along with background images. These changes were facilitated smoothly under Stage Manager (Johnathan Johns); Plus there were special effects and properties created by Preeta Harper, which complimented the production. The stage adaptation shows some ingenuity from Crew, so that the production can move easily from scene to scene. At times the sound was not as clear as it could have been and the volume was too loud, but this didn’t detract from the enthusiasm of the crowd or the cast.

The large cast was led by the talented Willie Wonka (Anthony Van Stram) who has grown his theatre skills through ROAR at R.M.T.  Even though he is now studying for his Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice, he has been recognised in the Gold Palm Awards and he’s been a finalist in the Beverley and Jock Mcllwain Youth Bursary.

Dance Captains: Jillian Rowlands and Nikki Glowacki skilfully organised the dance ensemble and special dances featured such as: The Ompah Lompahs and the Nutty Squirrels, from ROAR.  Anthony Van Stram was the cast vocal coach and some of the featured stand-out characters included: Mrs Teavee (Brianna Gibbons) and young Charlie Bucket (Auden Ryan), (recently featured in Boy Swallowed Universe). Mention must also be made of the two media announcers: Cherry Sundae (Tyler- Jay Foster) and Jerry Jubilee (Jake Hollingsworth), who captured the heart of the Redcliffe audience.This musical is fun; it’s a crowd pleasing, outrageously good musical entertainment with flair and imagination, which augers well for a good night out!