By Steve Odenthal
I held a ticket to a golden experience tonight watching the Sky High Players entertain the audience at Sky View High School’s auditorium in Smithfield, Utah as a cast of 31 put this fun Roald Dahl musical favorite through its paces. In the pre-show lighting of the auditorium, the ticket appeared to be a white piece of paper and relatively nondescript; but, I assure you, when the lights went down, it was golden. There was delight all around as children of all ages watched from a safe and comfortable distance as Willy Wonka (Liam Herbert) guided his visiting friends through a chocolate factory of imagination and wonder. This well-told story is a classic and most of us know what happens to each of the golden ticket holders, but still, Herbert held all of us spellbound throughout the play with his smooth and soothing voice applying a bit of fun and askew logic to his character. From the opening bars of (see what I did there?) “Pure Imagination”, Herbert’s singing assures us that this ride we share is definitely worth taking.
This musical is a combination of Dahl’s classic book Charlie & the Chocolate Factory which delighted millions of young readers, and the 1971 movie classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder. In this production nothing is left out; all the best parts and songs, not to mention the visual delights that you hope to see, are creatively brought to the stage by a talented set of performers and technicians under the direction of Jon Rash.
Although in his first year with the Sky View Theatre Department, Rash is no stranger to quality productions at Sky View High School. He is a proud alumnus of the school and helped to bring the highest standard of quality to the department when as a Sky High Player. In fact, his entire family was involved so deeply in Sky View Drama and Theatre all through Cache County over the years that it certainly seems only fitting that he continues the school’s tradition of excellence. And he starts out with a winner with the staging of Willy Wonka.
Rash, the production staff, and his technical team combined forces to bring a simple, clean, and stylized production to us. This show is one that is so easily over-thought with all the colors and images we all have seen brought to the screen version, but this is the stage and as such we can fill in details quite easily on our own. It was refreshing to see a lot of stage with modular emphasis points placing us into the experience effectively without sensory overload. That is not to say that we had to work hard on our own to fill out the picture, but rather we had enough to keep us involved without bogging down in detail. The set design Danny Rash envisioned for the show felt like an old friend and, as such, welcomed us right in from the start. It was obvious that the Set Designer knew both the show and the audience well enough to trust his own instincts.
Special Technical accolades should go to the Sky View Tech Class as the performance went off without a hitch even though it had a good number of lighting effects and several moving set pieces which the ensemble players helped position throughout the night.
As far as the ensemble of actors in tonight’s performance (Stephanie Alarcon, Brooklyn Atkinson, AnneMarie Barton, Kaya Brown, Hayden Brown-Johnson, Karli Clapp, Chi Harris, Dustin Hayward, Annalise McCammon, Hailey Sant, Caitlin Shultz, Megan Simonson, and Madeline Sutherland), not much more can be said other than they were “professional” and on task in each of their roles. Director Rash stressed to me how important it is to have that attention to detail even at the high school level. He should be well pleased with this group of students because I noticed that quality throughout the show. No ensemble character broke stride or purpose until they were well off into the wings (and I am only guessing that they broke it there). In short, they were where they were supposed to be, heard when the occasion arose and each of them enhanced the show.
I am going to circle back to set for a moment as the coordination between Costume Designers (Kody Rach, Kim Rash) and the Set Design is such an integral part of what keeps us involved in the show. The proscenium arch of so many vivid colors is immediately on display as the lights come up and even though we are not yet in the Chocolate Factory, in fact, we are in a somewhat dreary place, The Bucket Shack, after the first two numbers (Pure Imagination, and Golden Age of Chocolate), the audience immediately warms as we witness dysfunctional family harmony and peace within the substandard living conditions that young Charlie Bucket (John Morley) finds himself in. In both of those environments, vivid and drab, the choices made by Kim and Kody Rash as they tied into the arch, warmed, and almost prefaced every scene, setting the tone—always appropriately.
Music is a very key element of this show and Music Director Afton Furniss seems to have this mastered. There is no great yearning, burning appeal from the heart, or a wrong to be righted in this musical. No “into the breach” or “fire” to park and bark with, just a solid, even flow—a quiet wave on which the characters float us with their voices. There were strong voices all around throughout the cast and, at appropriate times, some very nice harmonies were achieved. It appears that Sky View High School has a wealth of talent in that area for years to come.
I mentioned earlier that moveable pieces of the set are a highlight of this staging; however, those pieces were not the only moving parts of this play. Katie Packard (Choreographer) had the troupe moving gracefully when precision was needed and took a simple approach to providing the graceful movements that were at times required. I must admit that I tried the hand-movements of the Oompa Loompa’s in one of their basic songs and, frankly, I don’t measure up. To an Oompa Loompa—I will just leave that here for your consideration. This is a show where, if any of your performers are not in sync, it stands out immediately. I’m happy to report to you that this is a tight show—again we are getting back to the professionalism that Rash is striving for.
The Sky High Players are doing a wonderful job with this show. It is a shame that we are catching it so late in the run. Each member of the cast is nicely placed and in speaking with some of them after the show, I found myself surprised at experience levels. Most of the seniors I had pegged, but I must confess to a few underclassmen that I was mistaken on as I assumed an older grade associated with the talent and stage presence I witnessed. That kind of surprise is a welcome one in a High School as it equates to lots of promising shows in the future. In addition to the ensemble, and players already mentioned, the Cast included Agustus Gloop (Carson Ashby), Veruca Salt (Izzy Costa), Violet Beauregard (Brooklyn Anderson), Mike TeaVee (David Higginbotham), Grandpa Joe (Londan Duffin), Mrs. Gloop (Katie Ludlow), Mr. Salt (Bryce Holt), Mrs. Beauregard (Tatelyn Clark), Ms. Teavee (Maddie Hamilton), Phoebe Trout (Rachel Dikwa-Nkrumah), Mrs. Bucket (Rachel Edgar), Mr. Bucket (Andrew Bowles), Grandma Josephine (Tina Chambers), Grandpa George (Hunter Ashby), Grandma Georgina (Kira Joy). Each of these players deserves a mention of their own but I’ve decided to lump them into logical groups for this review. All played their parts very well, but here goes.
The “bedfellows”, or Charlie’s grandparental group that shared a bunk were delightful although advanced age and hearing loss/distorted understandings played just a little close to home for this reviewer. Well done all.
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The “Golden girls and boys”—ticket holders all. Each portrays their character in a manner that made me mentally prepare a list of who is naughty and nice—they all definitely fall on one side of the ledger. I believed exactly that until I had a chance to talk to a few after the show. But during the performance, I was convinced and that is what counts.
The “Parental Units”—those who chose to accompany their naughty offspring on the visit to the factory, all have a bit of exhaustion in their demeanor, which I felt very appropriate for what they have been charged with in bringing up the rotten apples of their eye.
The reporter, Phoebe Trout, brought a dazzle of celebrity along with her microphone while enduring the rudeness of the Golden Ticket winners. Perhaps the condescension showed to her character helps an audience relish the just desserts that seem to be meted out to the offensive youngsters.
It is not too late to grab a chocolate bar and get your golden ticket—there is one more performance left. It is a matinee, so grab the children and get over to the Sky View Auditorium by 1:00 PM. Parents will catch a close glimpse of how this High School department captures the joy of Theatre. I guarantee that it will spark something within your child that will lead to an enchantment that you as a parent will want them to have. Willy Wonka is a fun, entertaining romp through fantasy that young and old can enjoy together. This is FUN theatre. Surprise your family and grab a golden ticket today!
The Sky High Players of Sky View High School presents Willy Wonka by Roald Dahl
Sky View High School 520 South 250 East Smithfield, UT 84335
November 10-17 7:00 PM, November 18 1:00 PM
Phone: 435-563-6273
Tickets $5.00-$8.00
Sky High Players Facebook Page
Willy Wonka Facebook Event
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