Chagrin Valley Little Theatre

Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka Music & Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley
Stage Adaptation by Leslie Bricusse & Tim McDonald
Based on the book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl

Performance Dates & Tickets

About the Play

The snozzberries taste like snozzberries!

Directed by Julia Kolibab
Musical Direction by Meghan Strong
Choreography by Bill Wade and Inlet Dance Company

Roald Dahl’s timeless story of the world-famous candy man and his quest to find an heir comes to life in this stage adaptation of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, featuring songs from Academy Award-nominated original film score.

In the play, a group of lucky children with 'golden tickets' get an exclusive peek into the candy factory of the enigmatic Willy Wonka. Along with their various parents and guardians, the children discover that there is far more to life than sweets, and that children who misbehave at the candy factory are sure to end up in trouble!

*** Tickets for the December 6th matinee are available exclusively through Friends of WomenSafe, 501(c)3 non-profit with the sole mission of generating unrestricted funds for WomenSafe. Since 1980 WomenSafe has served victims of domestic violence throughout NE Ohio by providing crisis shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, relocation and therapy services free of charge. Tickets for the 12/6 matinee only are being sold exclusive through their organization. If you wish to attend this performance, we encourage you to call (440) 285-3741 for tickets.

The Cast

Willy Wonka - Don Bernardo
Candy Man/Phineous Trout - Jon Gellott
Charlie Bucket - Mark Oet
Mrs. Bucket - Tonya McCulley
Mr. Bucket - Jerry Schaber
Grandma Josephine - Patty Osredkar
Grandma Georgina - Cindee Catalano-Edelman
Grandpa George - Sy Levine
Grandpa Joe - Don Edelman
James - Josh Sellers
Matilda - Erin Eisner
Cooks - Molly Burke, Lauren Lang
Augustus Gloop - Kal Bowers
Mrs. Gloop - Amy Bowers
Veruca Salt - Ashleigh Nagy
Mr. Salt - Bob Fortlage
Mike Teavee - Liam Garnaut
Ms. Teavee - Abigail D. Bays
Violet Beauregarde - Anna Gottfried
Mrs. Beauregarde - Renee Schonhiutt
Oompa Loompas - Giovanna Alvarez, Matt Kohn, Whitney Lieberth, Sophie Longo, Sarah Most, Emily McCulley, Eve Regelbrugge, Brianna Schonhiutt, Lillian Saunders
Squirrels/Candy Man Kids - Molly Carroll, Sophia Dennis, Erin Eisner, Kayce Kvacek, Josh Sellers, Alexis Zahuranec

About the Playwrights

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Born in Llandaff, Wales, to Norwegian parents, Dahl served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent. He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's bestselling authors. His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour. Some of his most popular books include The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG. Roald Dahl passed away in 1990.

Leslie Bricusse is a British lyricist and composer. Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. Whilst at Cambridge University, he was Secretary of Footlights between 1952 and 1953 and Footlights President during the following year. He married the actress Yvonne Romain. Sammy Davis, Jr. had hits with two of Bricusse's songs - "What Kind of Fool Am I?" (from Stop the World - I Want to Get Off) and the #1 hit "The Candy Man" (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). Other recording artists who have had popular success with his songs include Matt Monro and Frank Sinatra ("My Kind of Girl"), Shirley Bassey ("Goldfinger"), Nancy Sinatra ("You Only Live Twice"), Maureen McGovern ("Can You Read My Mind"), and Diana Krall ("When I Look in Your Eyes"). Bricusse also sang the opening theme of the U.S. television series, It's A Living.

Anthony Newley, one of Broadway’s greatest leading men, was born George Anthony Newley in Hackney, London on September 24, 1931. His personal hit parade includes numerous film and stage musicals, highlighted by Goldfinger, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off and The Roar of the Greasepaint (The Smell of the Crowd). Aside from his myriad musical credits, Newley worked individually as director, actor or producer in a multitude of acclaimed motion pictures, including Summertree, It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, Mr. Quilp (for which he also wrote words and music), and Can Heironymous Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humpe and Find True Happiness?. Anthony Newley passed away in 1999.