The Golden Ticket Shines at Montwood High School

Willie Wonka is Sweet at Montwood High School

As Reporter Phineous Trout (Colton Segapeli) would say, the news has made an incredible discovery at Montwood; Roald Dahl’s "Willy Wonka." The show was solidly founded on "pure imagination," from the sets, to the songs, to the electric energy that kept everyone enthralled. Despite some technical errors (many of which were not the technician’s fault), the show ended as a success.

To quickly reprise the plot, it is about Willy Wonka (Daniel Novotny), a famous chocolate maker looking for an heir to his candy empire. Because of the corruption in the youth of his day, Wonka cannot trust just anyone to succeed him, so he sends out five golden tickets hoping to find one child of pure heart. Though there’s no knowing if he can continue the Golden Age of Chocolate, the musical teaches the audience to think positive from not only Wonka’s view, but also the Buckets. This family is immersed in poverty, and despite it, they manage to make do. Charlie Bucket (Gabe Medrano) can barely afford a chocolate bar, but when he gets a golden ticket the opportunity of a lifetime falls into his hands.

Because Wonka’s world is so outlandish-not only does he have to be magical (which he was), but every actor had to have high energy and tight characterization as well. Fortunately, Montwood didn’t shirk this responsibility; for example, Mike Teavee (Adrian Salas), who ironically had attention issues, outright demanded the audience’s focus with his gestures and energy. Veronica- no, Veruca Salt (Aris Trillo) made it incredibly clear that she was the attention-nabbing little brat, and certainly the audience loved to hate her. Let’s not forget Violet Beauregarde (Kasha Hamilton) whose gum smacking was oh so very annoying. Finally, Augustus Gloop (Connor Myers), who was as "big as the dome of the capital," had the crowd wanting more after the song "I Eat More!"

Never once did any of these characters falter, and these were merely the ticket winners. Hearty applause goes to the rest of the cast as well, like Mr. Salt (Robert Fernandez) who was clearly "nuts about nuts," and the Grandparents (Hope Lopez, Nikki Enriquez, and Felipe Sotelo) who make the crowd laugh loudly because Grandpa George (Anthony Hinojosa) could not hear them.

Costumes were bright and helped along the characterization, like Wonka’s glittery and odd coat, that showed he wasn’t just a run of the mill chocolate maker. Makeup did a wonderful job as well, since the age differences between the kids and the grandparents could be seen immediately. However, the costumes and makeup barely stood a chance to the raw, pure imagination poured into the set. It was clear here most of all that this play wasn’t just a simple spin-off of the movie; live people were squirrels in place of the golden-egg geese and in the blink of an eye, the fountain became Augustus’ tight pipe nightmare. The sets were changed so fast that it almost seemed like magic at times. The stage held up the story wonderfully, and the curtain became the gates of imagination; everyone wanted to know what was coming up next.

The final impression left in the mind of the audience, all among Dahl’s lessons, is that a little happiness can be had as long as a person remains pure and positive. It seems that, because of thinking positively, Montwood can make the theater sound sweet like the candy-man can make the world taste good.


by Alexandra N. Welch Quarm of Bel Air High School

PURE IMAGINATION ON MONTWOOD STAGE

In a “world of endless fascination” full of Wonka bars, nerds, and everlasting gobstoppers, stands Willy Wonka himself. He’s been holed up in his factory for a long time, but that’s about to change. He’s going to open his gates to the luckiest children in the world in search of something he seems to have lost. This is the story of "Willy Wonka," performed by the Montwood High School theatre troupe-the Emerald Players.

Willy Wonka closed down his factory because spies were stealing his secret recipes, but for the first time in years he’s going to open the gates to the factory for five children who manage to find the golden tickets he’s hidden in his Wonka bars. Wonka wants to find some good in the world, and someone to keep the factory going when he is no longer there to do so. He intends to choose the best participant at the end of the tour. There is also the parallel story of Charlie and the Bucket family. They are poor and all they eat is cabbage soup. Charlie doesn’t particularly mind and is a nice, sweet boy who wants so badly to find the last golden ticket and get into Willy Wonka’s factory.

Charlie, played by Gabe Medrano, was portrayed as good and unselfish when it came to the Wonka contest. You could see that he wanted to win, but he felt bad for his family and how poor they were, so he tried not to make it a very big deal. Charlie’s four bedridden grandparents were realistically played and funny to watch. Grandpa Joe, played by Felipe Sotelo, was invited into the factory along with Charlie and he did a nice job being the elderly grandfather with a fun, playful side.

Augustus Gloop, played by Connor Myers and his mother (Rebecca Tarango) were chunky Germans with wonderful accents. They worked well together and were very amusing.  Tarango was comical and had perfect timing. Veruca Salt, the spoiled brat of a child, played by Aris Trillo, and her pretty-boy father, Robert Fernandez, who owns a nut factory and won’t let you forget it, almost looked related and had a great father/daughter relationship that showed on stage. Violet Beauregarde (Kasha Hamilton) was an unpleasant child whose exaggerated gum smacking fit the part perfectly. Mike Teavee (Adrian Salas) was the technology obsessed child who couldn’t keep his mind focused if he tried. Adrian did a great job and never stopped acting the part. Even in the background, he was always Mike. His mother, played by Aja Segapeli, did a wonderful job, was gorgeous, and sang well. They had good chemistry as mother and son. Phineous Trout, the reporter played by Colton Segapeli, also provided comi
 c relief.

Daniel Novotny, who played Willy Wonka, did an excellent job. He was very believable and fun to watch playing the zany, eccentric chocolatier perfectly. His costume was just right and Novotny did a great job with anything that was thrown at him.

The set was very creative and had many elements that had to be put up quickly and precisely. It was fun to watch the many different rooms of Willy Wonka’s factory materialize. They used a projector at different scenes in the play to make an interesting and eye-catching background. Good job stage crew.

Montwood’s performance of "Willy Wonka" was inviting and had a lot of charm. As they said, “If you want to see magic lands, close your eyes and you will see one,” and they created a magic land on stage. It was "pure imagination."


by Sarah Rae Parks of Americas High School

Comments

[Ms. Maria del Pilar Munoz]

Mr. Drama teacher (sorry I misplaced play program)
Willy Wonka was the greatest! I truely enjoyed watching it.
I am elated with acting abilities I and would like to extend inviation to first cast call
try-outs for Midnight Rendezvous Billy the Kid Mystery of 1876 next week.
Please check newspaper on Tuesday, or contact myself first at mpilarm_2000@yahoo.com 921-1332 or www.Adobehorseshoe.com Dinner Theater Mr. Borrego at 345-5994. Again my congratulations to director, actors and crew.
Pilar Munoz