Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 7 out of 10
Northern Light Theatre Company
TICKETS: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tickets
Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first adapted for the stage in 2013 and underwent some major reworking before landing on Broadway in 2017 with a number of songs being replaced over the years to bring in the classics from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. These changes and the book of the musical itself create a show that relies heavily on the nostalgia for that 1971 film – which, if the opening night audience is anything to go by, is still absolutely beloved by children today.
This is Kristian Latella’s second production as director,
having won Broadway World’s ‘Best Direction of a Musical’ for
Marie Clark Musical Theatre’s Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier
in 2025. It’s clear that Latella has created an environment that the cast and
crew have thrived in and enjoyed; an ideal skill for any director of community
theatre. He has also crafted a large ensemble that works well together.
Unfortunately, a few blocking choices hindered the emotional stakes –
particularly in Act 1, where Mrs Bucket’s face was turned away from the
audience during her most tender moments with Charlie. The Act 2 scene journey
through the invisible corridors, however, showed some well rehearsed blocking,
brilliantly executed by Sam White as Mike Teavee as he mimed getting caught in
each trap, timed to the sound effects with precision.
Jacinta Vistoli’s choreography shone in the group numbers.
The Act 1 introductions of the 4 detestable contest winners are tight ensemble
dance numbers that capture the key character trait of each winner. The Oompa
Loompa send-offs in Act 2 were equally quirky and well executed and special
mention to the ensemble members who had the ‘privilege’ to perform as the
dancing squirrels; I hope they had copious amounts of gatorade ready
backstage!
Serena Cann’s musical direction is solid and shows a lot of
work has been put into successfully building a cohesive sound from the
ensemble. This makes the Oompa Loompa send-offs some of the vocal highlights of
the show. Unfortunately, a mixture of sound balance and lack of diction from
soloists using accents for their characters, left a number of songs in Act 1
hard to understand.
David MacGillivray stars as Willy Wonka. It’s an incredibly
hard task to be asked to perform such well-known songs as The Candy Man
and Pure Imagination and MacGillivray meets the occasion, ensuring
no-one is disappointed. He has many moments where he successfully captures
either Gene Wilder’s whimsy or Johnny Depp’s detachedness; however, in Act 1,
in his guise as a simple purveyor of candy, it is less clear whether
MacGillivray is playing Wonka pretending to be a candy man, or a candy man
pretending to be Wonka.
Nemanja Ilic is our second star of the show as the titular
Charlie. As Charlie Bucket, Ilic has captured the one-eyed obsession with
chocolate coupled with an all-pervading sense of wonder and excitement for new
experiences. However, Ilic doesn’t let that obsession overpower Charlie’s
endearing devotion to his family. At 11 and already award winning, Ilic
will absolutely be a powerhouse in the Adelaide community theatre scene if he
chooses to stay. Equally though, he could easily grace interstate and
professional stages if he keeps developing and building on the skills he’s
already acquired.
Russell Ford’s Grandpa Joe is zany and encouraging of all of
the worst/best traits in Charlie; refusing to allow Charlie to become depressed
while focusing on what he lacks in life. Courtney Richardson’s Mrs Bucket is
soft and sweet voiced and she captures the soul crushing heartbreak Mrs Bucket
has for not being able to provide a better life for her son Charlie.
The supporting cast of our despicable children and their
parents all lean into their assigned stereotypes with joy and abandon. Gavin
Cianci strikes an imposing figure as the doting father to Veruca Salt which
makes his quailing in fear when Veruca loses her temper all the more hilarious.
Clair Birbeck’s Mrs Teavee is brilliantly out-of-place and out-of-time as she
tries unsuccessfully to cope with her son Mike Teavee’s screen obsession.
Latella and Brad Mundt’s set design was suitable for the
venue and production. The gates into Wonka’s factory are appropriately imposing
and the Buckets’ shack (complete with a bed for 4 people) was perfect in its
own quaint way. The one let down was the Chocolate Room. It’s hard to beat the
1971 film for sheer scale and wonder, but a slightly wider set piece or some
additional projections to increase the width of the wonder would have increased
the wow factor. That wow factor was present for Mike Teavee’s miniaturisation
when broadcast via Chocolate Television with some well timed mime and video
trickery. Birbeck’s use of the Mike Teavee doll is quite funny. Mundt’s giant
mixing bowl and glass elevator were two other highlights.
Latella, Ann Humphries and Vincent Alexander’s costume
designs for all of our named characters pull almost exclusively from the
Broadway production departing from puppet Oompa Loompas to instead have shoes
at the actors’ knees and a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief; it works.
The sound design was mostly well done though some looping
background sounds had sudden jumps or moments of silence breaking up what would
otherwise have been a seamless background atmosphere. Hopefully as the run
continues the microphone and lighting cues will get tighter so we don’t miss
any dialogue or entrances.
Northern Light Theatre Company’s production of Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory is a solid show. There is a lot to love about it
and the audiences will eat up every last speck of chocolate left on the plate.
If you’re after a fun night out with the kids, take them along. They may sing
annoyingly the entire car ride home, but you will have given them memories to
treasure.
- Scott
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