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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Willy
Wonka</SPAN></I></B><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> at CVLT boasts
sweet, sour tastes <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>11/27/09</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Willy
Wonka</SPAN></I><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">,
currently in production at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, is an odd and
disturbing musical.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 13.45pt 0in"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">A
stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s popular children’s book <I>Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory</I><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">,<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>it tells the tale of impoverished
Charlie Bucket—one of five children to win a contest to tour London’s famous
chocolate factory—who ends up winning over the factory’s owner, Willy Wonka.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 13.45pt 0in"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Because
the story takes place in a fantasy world filled with unimaginable and edible
treats, and its core message is that honesty is the best policy, i</SPAN><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">t
can be tempting to overlook just how dark, foreboding and cruel Dahl’s writing
actually is.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>However, it is
impossible to ignore it altogether.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I><SPAN
lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory</SPAN></I><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">
is a cautionary tale that depicts the horrors encountered by the bad children on
the tour. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Augustus, who is
gluttonous, is swallowed by a river</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">
of chocolate.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Greedy Veruca is
discarded as trash.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Sloth-like Mike
is rendered small and insignificant.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>The obsessive-compulsive Violet becomes the product of her compulsion.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Wonka
himself is a maniacal, manipulative man-child.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He is singularly responsible for
Charlie’s suffering by having laid off Charlie’s father and replacing the local
workforce with foreigners—the Oompa-Loompas.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Wonka manufactures exotic sweets just
down the road from where Charlie’s destitute family barely survives on cabbage
soup.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">This
is unsettling stuff.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 13.45pt 0in"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">The
1971 film was a candy-coated adaptation of the book.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It introduced fluffy musical numbers by
Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, with lyrics like “who can take a rainbow,
wrap it in a sigh, soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It cast lovable Gene Wilder as Wonka,
who turned maniacal into mischievous.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>It employed brightly spray-painted midgets to play
Oompa-Loompas.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 13.45pt 0in"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Still,
the film could not completely overcome Dahl’s darkness, mask Wonka’s creepiness
or shake the book’s disturbing imagery (in fact, the spray-painted midgets
called attention to it).<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Neither
can the play, <SPAN style="COLOR: #222222">although it works doubly hard to do
so.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 13.45pt 0in"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Willy
Wonka</SPAN></I><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">
includes all the inane tunes rejected by the film, eliminates the heavy
back-story about corporate espionage,</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"><FONT face=Calibri>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">and
makes Wonka less mysterious by having him narrate the story.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The result is a sugar-dipped sourball of
a show; a yummy confection with an acidic aftertaste.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">To
its credit, the CVLT production under the direction of Julia Kolibab accentuates
all that is fun and fantastic in the story.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It does so on several
fronts.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">As
with <I>You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown</I>, adults are intended to play the
children in <I>Willy Wonka</I>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>With children playing the children in this production, the cuteness
quotient significantly increases as does the show’s
family-friendliness.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Having
extraordinarily talented children makes this production a particular
delight.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Mark Oet, as Charlie,
lacks the necessary kid-in-a-candy-store awe, but his sweet tenor turns every
asinine song into something wonderful.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>As the self-destructive children on tour, Kal Bowers, Ashleigh Nagy, Liam
Garnaut and Anna Gottfried are a joy to watch.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">The
nine girls that play the Oompa-Loompas steal the show during their short but
frequent stints on stage.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They
execute Bill Wade and Elizabeth Pollert’s very silly and stylized choreography
to perfection and are adorable.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Charlie’s
grandparents, played by Don Edelman (now on injured reserve), Sy Levine, Patty
Osredkar and Cindee Catalano-Edelman, are wonderful comic relief.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The children’s parents are also quite
good, with Tonya McCulley as Charlie’s mom turning in a particularly fine
performance.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Don
Bernardo exorcises the creepiness from Wonka, which is no small feat, but he
does not replace it with anything particularly interesting or distinctive.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His Wonka is fine, but it lacks that
certain something.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Creating
a chocolate factory that, according to the lyrics, is “a place of pure
imagination” must be a nightmare on a community theater’s budget.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Technical director Edmond Wolff exceeds
expectations by creating a projected video display that establishes location and
creates a sense of magic in lieu of genuine theatrical bells and whistles.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">Yes,
<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Willy Wonka</I> is an odd musical.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But the CVLT makes it a very palatable
entertainment for the family.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Willy
Wonka</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
continues through December 19</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> at the Chagrin
Valley Little Theatre</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">,
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">56 River
Street, Chagrin Falls.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets,
which are $18 and $14, call 440-247-8955 or visit <B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><A href=""><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><FONT
color=#104a91>www.cvlt.org</FONT></SPAN></A>.</B><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #222222; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
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