Director Drew Humprey gives us a delectable Charlie and the Chocolate Factory packed with action from start to finish and a spectacularly synchronized ensemble. Musical direction by Alec Bart helps create the overall enchantment of this show and keeps the action tight.
Matthew Eby as Charlie Bucket reaches out to the audience with soulful eyes that make us cheer for him to rise above poverty to attain his dreams. Eby is vocally strong on songs like “Willy Wonka! Willy Wonka!” and “A Letter from Charlie Bucket” and poised through his many dance numbers. Mrs. Bucket, played with such compassion by Sarah Colt, sends chills with her lush soprano through songs like “If Your Father Were Here.” Howard Pinhasik’s Grandpa Joe is such a loveable and fun character.
Cooper Grodin’s Willy Wonka plays the eccentric with a glint in his eye and mischievous ways that entrance. Grodin opens the show belting out the iconic “The Candy Man” and holds us in the palm of his hand throughout. When Grodin and Eby team up on “Pure Imagination,” we are mesmerized.
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