Orange Avenue School Presents Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka
By Sasha Paulyson
Photo Credits Andrew Feldman
On Friday, March 15th, Orange Avenue School had its opening night of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka. This well-known story intrigued so many people that the production sold out on its first night, with a packed house for each performance, despite the holiday weekend. Directed by Becky Randazzo, choreographed by Raven Abbot, music director Constance Thomas, and costumes by Maureen Monroe, the production staff and cast put all their effort into this musical.
The story follows Willy Wonka, the famous chocolatier, who places five golden tickets into his chocolate bars around the world. Whoever finds these tickets gets a tour of his factory, which closed years ago. Veruca Salt (Geovanna Ayala), Augustus Gloop (David Buendia), Violet Beauregard (Ruby Piccuirro), Mike Teavee (Daniel Buendia), and Charlie Bucket (Maxwell Paulyson), all go on a mysterious journey through Wonka’s nutty factory, accompanied by their guardians: Mr. Salt (Liam Cardoso), Mrs. Gloop (Charlotte Henderson), Mrs. Beauregard (Emma Salerno), Ms. Teavee (Katelyn Turon), and Grandpa Joe (Nicholas Moribaldi).
The moment Ben Coccaro (Willy Wonka) stepped on stage, it was evident that the cast had put months of blood, sweat, and tears into this show. Coccaro and Paulyson made the perfect stage pair, seamlessly hitting every note and mark. All the cast members thoroughly enjoyed this thrillful, comical musical, and the journey of making this an enjoyable production for the audience.
Every scene, from the Fizzy Lifting Room to the Oompa-Loompa songs, was specially directed to the perfect pitch. The “Nuts for my nuts” line had the entire audience laughing every night. Similarly, the stage crew made sure the curtains and spotlights were flawless. It is crystal clear that this production was a true dedication to the theater arts, and for the community to enjoy.
A big round of applause to the entire cast, staff, and all of the supporters who came to the shows. Congratulations!