Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
It’s ironic that the most memorable song from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which opened Thursday at Young People’s Theatre (YPT), is “Pure Imagination.” Because this stage musical contains anything but.
Sure, director Thom Allison’s production is garishly colourful, with the energy of a toddler who’s just downed a bag full of candy. But the material itself is a cookie-cutter, paint-by-numbers dud — one that no amount of artistic intervention can fix.
Prior to landing at YPT, where it runs through the end of December as the company’s holiday musical offering, “Charlie” had been through the wringer. David Greig’s stage adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic debuted in London’s West End to middling reviews in 2013. After a significant overhaul that, by all accounts, was woefully unsuccessful, the show infamously bombed on Broadway four years later.
The product on stage in Toronto — a “theatre for young audiences” version of the musical — has undergone further changes since its New York City bow. The script has been heavily trimmed. It’s now presented in one act instead of two. But the problems that sunk the musical on Broadway are still glaringly present here.
Greig’s narrative lumbers from scene to scene. After an extraneous introduction focused on the impoverished Charlie Bucket (Breton Lalama), the musical’s title character all but disappears into the background.
We then meet the other four golden ticket winners, who, along with Charlie, get to tour Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. There’s the pretzel-loving Augustus Gloop (David Lopez); the entitled young ballerina Veruca Salt (Caitlyn MacInnis); the professional gum chewer Violet Beauregarde (Ruth Acheampong); and the rebellious video gamer Mike Teavee (Nick Boegel).
This exposition feels formulaic, each of the characters introduced with a song-and-dance number. By the time it’s all over, half of the show is done. And we’ve not even arrived at the chocolate factory yet!
When we do — finally! — get there, Greig isn’t concerned about developing his characters nor creating any sort of narrative tension to propel this overstuffed musical forward. Instead, the back half of “Charlie” is filled with even more episodic scenes, as each of these brattish kids we’d just come to meet are deposited out of the factory. Greig’s story then slowly deflates toward its inevitable conclusion, as Wonka finds his worthy successor.
Shaiman and Wittman’s pastiche score, with an electro-pop edge, does little to enliven the proceedings, with tunes that flow in and out of the ear faster than gluttonous Augustus Gloop is taken out by Wonka’s chocolate river. It’s hard to imagine that this music comes from the same duo that gave us “Hairspray” and, more recently, “Some Like It Hot.”
The only songs that do leave a lasting impact are those by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 1971 film. (Thank goodness numbers like “Pure Imagination” and “The Oompa Loompa Song” have been largely left untouched.)
Lalama makes the most of the limited material. His Charlie clearly has a heart of gold. But this production’s decision to cast adults as the kids diminishes some of the story’s whimsical, childless abandon.
Wonka, the so-called “Candy Man,” is even more underdeveloped. Michael Therriault, accessorized with a purple staff and top hat, plays him with quirky charm, but rarely taps into the character’s darker, more insidious side.
Allison’s production, however, is filled with occasional moments of brilliance. Jacob MacInnis is hilarious as Augustus’ Bavarian mother, Mrs. Gloop, bringing down the house with the yodel-filled “More of Him to Love.” Allison Plamondon’s cheeky choreography looks like a helluva fun to dance. And Ming Wong’s costumes are delightfully droll, particularly for the polka-dotted Oompa Loompas.
But moments don’t make a musical.
The rest of Allison’s production rarely impresses. Laura Warren’s overused projections, featuring Toronto streetscapes and views of the CN Tower, look tired and unimaginative, while Brandon Kleiman’s sets, though colourful, awkwardly roll in and out of the wings, making scene transitions longer than necessary.
The 12-member ensemble is certainly impressive. Most of the performers play two or more roles, changing in and out of costumes in mere seconds. I doubt there’s a harder working group of actors on a Toronto stage this season. But the ensemble’s small size (the Broadway company had more than double the number of performers) often means that some scenes lack the visual depth that a larger cast would bring.
Adding more performers, though, would do little in terms of saving this show, an insipid adaptation of Dahl’s classic story. Much like the candies produced in its titular factory, “Charlie” is ultimately a tasteless confection of empty calories.