English Valleys Students Star in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’

NORTH ENGLISH – On Nov. 15 and 16, the English Valleys Drama Department performed the musical adaptation of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl. The play tells the classic story of Charlie Bucket (played by Kaylee Frazier), an idealistic girl given a chance to visit a chocolate factory owned by eccentric and morally dubious chocolatier Willy Wonka (Daige Sabin). Also starring in the play were Tyler Wiseman as Grandpa Joe, Emily Sieren as Mrs. Bucket, Cyrus Morrison as Augustus Gloop, Phoenix Sorden as Veruca Salt, Kaylynne Hoylman as Violet Beauregarde, Tess Crane as Mike Teavee, and Miley Clubb, Adam Forbes, McKenna Rugg and Peyton Conrad as various parents. The play also featured Kaylynn Caster, Dylan Kleine, Blake Murphy, Ellie Patterson, Clara Karr, Jack Osborn, Stacia Linder, Joslyn Bender, Whitney Walker, Pantera Spies, Olivia Debevec, Ady Overy, Lydia Smith, Gasilyn Purdy, Emerald Spence, Aadin Clingan, Landon Jennings and Allyson Lowe. The play was directed by Carrie Burdick, with Noah Cornelius being the music director, Victoria Threlkeld the student director, Audrey Heck the pianist, and Channing Stratton, Forrest Schott, Ambryn Holyman, Korbyn Brecht, Brody Williams, Brodie Bearbower, Chance McGaffee, Taylie Brecht, Ben Flander and Jack Johnson working as the crew.

“Mr. Cornelius and I both thought this would be a great show,” said Carrie Burdick, who has been directing plays for English Valleys for 15 years. “We have a young cast, it’s a young, spirited show full of opportunities for the kids...We graduated a lot of good people last year. These guys are very talented, you know, raw talent, but a lot of them we had to bring that out. Of course, Charlie and Willy Wonka are older and have more experience, but we have a whole lot of freshmen. Lots of newcomers.”

“It’s definitely tricky, but it is so much fun,” said Kaylee Frazier about playing Charlie Bucket. “You get to interact with all the different characters, and it’s just been super fun...Charlie is just a younger kid, so you can have some little kid moments where he can run around, but it’s still a serious part, and it’s just fun to kind of see the best of both worlds...I like that it’s kind of a comedy. There’s a lot of fun parts to it...I mean, I’ve watched ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ growing up and stuff, and it’s just really fun to put it on as a production, and just everybody around coming together is really fun.”

“It’s a really fun character to play, Willy Wonka,” said Daige Sabin. “He’s so deranged. It’s a dream part to play, you know?...It’s a lot of weight on the shoulders being a lead. That was obviously expected, but it kind of got me. It’s really fun interacting with everyone, all the characters...(The play is) silly. It’s really silly. It’s not supposed to be taken too seriously, and I really like that.

“It’s very funny. It’s very enjoyable,” said Tyler Wiseman. “It’s been an honor to be a part of the play. I mean, I’m building confidence, performing on stage, stuff like that”

“I really enjoy the atmosphere, and it just builds a lot of friendships that you wouldn’t build anywhere else,” said Frazier. “Personally, I really like the ending scene, when I have a duet with Willy Wonka. It just kind of brings it together at the end and just makes you feel really glad that you get to be a part of something like this. You get to look out at the audience and know that all of your hard work has paid off in the end.”

Burdick and Wiseman also stated they loved the play’s ending. Burdick stated she loved the ‘Pure Imagination’ scene, when the children first arrive in the chocolate room, while Wiseman stated he enjoyed the newspaper scene where the cast learns about the contest. Sabin stated he loved the contract scene that opens the play’s second act. The News-Review also asked the leads if they preferred the 1971 movie starring Gene Wilder, or the 2005 movie starring Johnny Depp. Sabin preferred the Depp version, while Frazier, Wiseman and Burdick preferred the Wilder version.

“It’s more fun and campy,” said Burdick. “Campy’s fun. That’s the look we’re going for. Johnny Depp’s is a little dark. Ours is not dark. Ours is upbeat and happy. I mean, except, kids get torn apart by squirrels.”