Everyone loves the story of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,”
so when I was asked to direct a children’s play, I picked a scripted version by Richard R. George based on Roal Dahl's book.
With this play I saw the potential to do many wonderful conceptual things. The songs within the play, for example, were turned into contemporary rap songs that were pre-recorded by the actors so the Umpa-Lumpas could sing. And because I had students who spoke both Spanish and English, one of the main families within the story was bilingual.
With this play I saw the potential to do many wonderful conceptual things. The songs within the play, for example, were turned into contemporary rap songs that were pre-recorded by the actors so the Umpa-Lumpas could sing. And because I had students who spoke both Spanish and English, one of the main families within the story was bilingual.
The main concept for the show was “carnival,” a colorful and modern set, where the story took place today and where the characters were bigger than life.
Veruca Salt, for example, was always in pink, and always carry a cell phone. She pretty much look like a character from the movie "Clueless" or Elle Woods from the film "Legally Blond."
The play was produced before the "re-imagining" of the film directed by Tim Burton. When the film came out, many students and faculty joked around that I had sold my concept to Mr. Burton for his concept for the film was very similar to my stage concept of the show.
