Willy Wonka JR. Performance Guide

PERFORMANCEGUIDETO

Scenic & Props Designer

Natalie Rose Mabry

Choreographer

Vasthy Mompoint

Stage Manager

Dylan Gellett

Director of Education

Steven Calakos

Lighting Designer

Elizabeth Knudson Sound

Owen True Costume

Jennifer Bronsted

Assistant Choreographer

Alyson Snyder

Assistant Stage Manager

Meredith Singleton

COO & Managing

Joel Markus

John Perine

Christy Tarr-McVey

Director of Production

Ray Inkel

Kristen Coury

2024 - 2025 Fall & Winter Conservatory

Anything Goes Tap Class (Ages 10 - 18)

Aug 14 - 15, 2024 | 6PM - 8PM

Tuition: $75

Students who take this class will be guaranteed to be cast in our Anything Goes Youth Edition production, where they will be the first students to perform on our Moran Mainstage on a professionally designed set.

Anything Goes: Youth Edition (Ages 10 - 18)

Mon/Wed, Sept. 4 - Dec. 11, 2024 | 5PM - 8PM

Performances: Dec. 13 - 15 | 5PM - 8PM

Tuition: $750

Be part of Gulfshore Playhouse history by performing in the first Conservatory production in the Baker Theatre and Education Center!

Story Explorers: Happily Haunted (Ages 5 - 7)

Tuesdays, October 1 - 29, 2024 | 5:30PM - 7:30PM

Tuition: $150

This class puts your student in the Halloween spirit as they explore a happily haunted house. Students will learn all about storytelling and the Actors’ Toolbox through drama, music, and art activities and their collaborative efforts will be showcased in a sharing event for friends and family on the final day of class

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Ages 6 - 9)

Mon-Thurs, Nov. 4 - 21 | 5:30PM - 7:30PM

Performances Nov. 21 - 23

Tuition: $300

Young actors will collaborate, learn, and grow in a supportive and dynamic

The Wonderful

environment. The program ends with a 30-minute production of Wizard of Oz that celebrates their dedication, creativity, and growth on stage.

2024

PRIVATE LESSONS

Broadway Bootcamp: Golden Age (Ages 8 - 13)

Weds. Jan. 5 - Feb. 5 | 5:30PM - 7:30PM Tuition: $150 Take a step into musical theatre history with us in this bootcamp focused on the classics! Students will learn music and choreography to some of Broadway’s classic shows, like Bye Bye Birdie, Oliver!, and The Sound of Music. The week will culminate in a showcase performance for family and friends.

Story Explorers: Out of This World (Ages 5 - 7)

Weds. Jan. 8 - Feb. 5 | 5:30PM - 7:30PM Tuition: $150 Led by experienced instructors, participants embark on cosmic adventures, creating fantastical worlds through interactive games, storytelling, and improvisation culminating in a space-themed musical theatre revue for family and friends.

Private Vocal Lessons

Mondays | 3PM - 6PM 30/45 minute classes Gulfshore Playhouse is excited to work with Christy Tarr-McVey (Broadway’s The Who’s Tommy, Jekyll and Hyde) to provide vocal lessons to our students. Beginner, Intermediate/Advanced Classes and packages available.

Private Acting Lessons

Available as Needed 60 minute classes Gulfshore Playhouse Education offers private acting lessons for Conservatory students of all ages.

5-lesson and 10-lesson packages available.

To register and for more information contact Director of Education, Steven Calakos at scalakos@gulfshoreplayhouse.org or 239.261.7529 ext. 207

AbouttheCreators

Leslie BricusseandAnthonyNewley

Before teaming up, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley had each seen successful careers as lyricists and composers in the United Kingdom during the 1950s. Their successes only grew during the 60s and 70s when the two partnered up to work on several film and musical scores, most famously the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder, which was nominated for the AcademyAwardforBestOriginalScorethatyear.

In addition to their work on Willy Wonka, the pair created several classic songs, including “Feeling Good” and “What Kind of Fool Am I?” which have been covered by many singers throughout the years, including Nina Simone, Michael Bublé, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mariah Carey, among others. In 1989, the duo was inducted into the SongwritersHallofFame.

Timothy Allen McDonald is an award-winning playwright and the adaptor of dozens of musicals, catering mainly to younger actors. McDonald is also a prominent figure in musical theater education, having worked closely with companies like Musical Theatre International (MTI) and Samuel French to adapt full-scale productions for young actors. He has also worked with several well-known theatre makers, including Stephen Sondheim, Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Schwartz, and Cameron Mackintosh. McDonald is the founder of the Junior Theater Festival, the world's largest festivalexclusivelydedicatedtoyoungpeopleperforming musical theater. His works have been performed on Broadway and in the White House forcelebritiesandpresidents,whilestillbeingpopulararoundtheworld.

TimothyAllenMcDonald

AbouttheDirector!

John Perine is a director, performer, playwright, and full-time Education Associate at Gulfshore Playhouse. John earned his BFA and MFA in Theatre for Young Audiences from Samford University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, respectively. Previous teaching artistry includes The Rose Theater (Omaha, NE), The Virginia Samford Theatre (Birmingham, AL), and Lexington Children’s Theatre (Lexington, KY). Since arriving at Gulfshore Playhouse, John directed Conservatory

productions of Finding Nemo JR. and Winnie the Pooh Kids (in partnership with the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples). Other directing credits include Peter and the Starcatcher (Finalist; Best Director of the Decade, Best Musical of the Decade / BroadwayWorld Birmingham), Kate DiCamillo’s Flora & Ulysses (North Carolina Theatre for Young People), and the world premiere of his play icarus x apollo (UNC Greensboro Centennial Fringe). www.johnperine.com

RoaldDahl

Roald Dahl was born on September 13th, 1916, in Cardiff, Wales. During his lifetime, Dahl worked as a fighter pilot during the second World War, a poet, a screenwriter, and most memorably as a children’s literatureauthor.

Much of the inspiration for Dahl’s children’s books came from his own experiences as a young person. During his youth, Roald Dahl attended many different boarding schools, at which he and his friends would play pranks on unkind adults. This led to the many instances of corporalpunishmentandphysicalabuse

that Dahl faced, which was later reflected in his books. Many of Dahl’s protagonists are young children who find the courage to stand up to the villainous adults in their lives.

Despite being an avid reader and being very interested in literature, Dahl was not seen as a strong writer by his teachers, with one of them proclaiming, “I have never met anybody who so persistently writes words meaning the exact opposite of what is intended." Dahl did not start publishing his writing until 1942, after his service in the war. He saw success writing for both adults and children, working with companies liketheWaltDisneyCompanyandwithfilmmakerAlfredHitchcock.

At the time of his death in 1999, Roald Dahl had published 19 novels for children and adults, along with countless short stories and television scripts. His stories have been adapted for the stage and screen several times over and have sold over 300 million copies worldwide. In 2021, Forbes magazine ranked Roald Dahl as the year ’ s highest paid deceased celebrity in the world, with his estate earning almost $700 million in thatyear.

RecentAdaptations

Since first being written in 1964, Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book has been adapted several times over, into stage productions, films, television shows, amusement park rides, andvideogames.Belowarethefourmostpopularadaptationsofthestory.

WillyWonkaandtheChocolateFactory(1971)

DespiteDahlhavingworkedinthefilmindustryforyearsbeforethisfilm,WillyWonka andtheChocolateFactorywasthefirstfilmadaptationofoneofDahl’schildren'sbooks. Whileitreceivedpositivereviewsfromcritics,itwasnotafinancialsuccessToday,itis regardedasacultclassic,memorableforitsclassicsongsandforGeneWilder’s performanceasWillyWonka.

Thoughhewasinitiallyinvolvedwithscreenplayofthisfilm,Dahlleftduetocreative differencesAnuncreditedwriternamedDavidSeltzerrewrotemuchofthescript

harlieandtheChocolateFactory(2005)

In2005,Dahl’sbookwasadaptedforthescreenagain,thistimebydirectorTimBurton. This version starred Johnny Depp as Wonka, and was much closer to Dahl’s book in terms of plot It featured all new songs composed by Danny Elfman and was an immediate box office success To date, it is Tim Burton’s second highest grossing film after 2010's Alice in Wonderland Like Roald Dahl, Tim Burton was not a fan of the 1971 film because it deviated from the plot of the book. He endeavored to make a film that followedthebookmoreclosely.

CharlieandtheChocolateFactory(2013)

In 2013, a musical adaptation of Charlie premiered in London This production featured music that was not in either of the popular film versions, though the songs “Pure Imagination” and “The Candy Man” from the 1971 film was included. In 2016, the production transferred to Broadway, where Wonka was played by actor Christian Borle. In general, the production received mixed reviews, in part thanks to another Roald Dahl musical that was popular at the time. The Broadway smash hit Matilda was incrediblypopularatthetime,whichdrewcomparisonsbetweentheproductions.

a(2023)

The latest adaptation of Dahl’s work is the 2023 musical Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet as the titular candy maker. The filmmakers wanted to create a companion piece to the 1971 film, reprising some of the characters and songs while including new ones. This was the 8th highest grossing film of 2023 and received generally positive reviews. It was nominated for several awards, mainly for the music, visuals, and for Chalamet’sperformanceasWonka.

CreateaCandyBar

RoaldDahlwasinspiredtowriteCharlieinpartbecausehedreamedofcreatinga candybarfortheCadburycompany.

FurtherReading

TheTaleofPeterRabbitbyBeatrixPotter

This classic children’s book was written in 1893, and follows the adventures of a disobedient rabbit named Peter who breaks into his neighbor’s garden. There have been over 45 million copies sold aroundtheworld,makingitoneofthebestsellingbooksinhistory. It was also famously a favorite of Roald Dahl! Beatrix Potter was oneofDahl’sidols,whohehadthepleasureofmeetingasachild.

TheBFGbyRoaldDahl

One night, a young girl named Sophie wakes up to see a giant prowling through the streets outside her orphanage. But this giant is no ordinary child-eating giant. He is the BFG: the Big Friendly Giant.HewhisksherofftoDreamCountrytohelphimfacetheevil giants.

ThisbookwasrecentlyadaptedintoafilmbyStevenSpielberg!

TheBorrowersbyMaryNorton

This book follows the Clock family, a family of small people who live in the walls of a human family’s home. During the day, the family “borrows” what they need, being careful to avoid the “human beans” that they live with. However, the youngest member of the Clock family, Arrietty, is not afraid the humans, and triestogettoknowthem.

TheMysteriousBenedictSocietybyTrentonLeeStewart

After seeing an advertisement in the newspaper that read, “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?", orphan Reynie Muldoon passes a series of complicated tests and joins a secret team of gifted children who set out to uncover the mysteries surrounding a sinister organization called L.I.V.E. The first in a seriesoffourbooksbyTrentonLeeStewart.

FurtherViewing

ChittyChittyBangBang (1968)

In this movie with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, an inventor played by Dick Van Dyke spins a fantastic story for his two children involving their noisy car named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, that not only drives, but floats and flies. Along with their friend Truly Scrumptious, the gang travels to a magical faraway land and embarkonafantasticaladventure.

JamesandtheGiantPeach(1996)

Oneday,ayoungorphannamedJamesfindsagiantpeachgrowing in his backyard. His two evil aunts quickly turn the peach into a tourist attraction, but after eating through to the pit, James finds a group of life-size bugs. The peach rolls off into the ocean and the group sets off on an adventure ending in New York City. This movie, directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton, is basedonthenovelofthesamenamebyRoaldDahl.

101Dalmatians(1961)

In this Disney classic, a litter of fifteen puppies are kidnapped by the villainous yet fashionable Cruella DeVille, who wants to turn them into fur coats. Their parents, Pongo and Perdita, set off on an adventure to rescue them from harm’s way. Will they stop Cruella? Will they save the puppies? Will they find any more puppies along theway?

TheLittlePrince(2015)

Based on the 1943 novella, this beautifully animated film tells the story of an overworked young girl who visits her eccentric neighbor, the Aviator. He tells her stories of a young boy who lives on an asteroid. Together, the girl and the Aviator rediscover how to seetheworldaroundthem.