| Cast member Summit Starr flies into the air during a rehearsal of ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ at the BG Performing Arts Center. (Photos: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune) |
The thespians at Bowling Green High School are ready to fly.
In this weekend’s production of "Willy Wonka" cast members will get a lift when the show opens
Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Bowling Green The musical based on the Roald Dahl novel continues Friday and
Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 and $8 for students and seniors. Tickets are
available from Grounds for Thought, 174 S. Main St., Bowling Green, and at the high school. Call (419)
354-0100.
Being able to install the rigging needed to get actors airborne is another benefit of the two-year old
performance center, said Jo Beth Gonzalez.
Alex Thompson, of ZFK Flying Effects, was on hand last week, putting the rigging in place and training
the cast and crew in the art of stage flight.
The company, he said, works with all levels of companies from high school to touring Broadway shows.
The one essential for installing the gear is "the structural integrity of the rigging,"
Thompson said. He characterized the set up at the arts center as "outstanding."
Doing "Willy Wonka," he said, is interesting. In some shows such as "Peter Pan" and
"Wizard of Oz" the flying scenes are traditional set pieces.
"If you’re singing ‘I’m Flying,’ you better be flying," he said.
In "Willy Wonka" though it’s a matter of following the director’s flights of fancy, he said.
| Michele Mathis flies above the stage at the BG Performing Arts Center while a scene in which her character Violet explodes from eating too many blueberries in BGHS’s production of ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’. |
"My job is to make sure it happens," Thompson said. "I function more as a coach."
It’s fun because we get to do different things. "I’ve never done ‘Wonka’ the same way twice."
Actors fly in four scenes in the Bowling Green production.
The harness can be uncomfortable, Thompson said. "But the part that’s uncomfortable is what’s
keeping you in the air."
Justin Brown, who plays Grandpa Joe, said it was "exciting … bungee jumping
"Who wouldn’t want to fly?" asked fellow cast member Abby Paskvan. "It’s like every kid’s
dream."
Cast member Grace Easterly said this is just another was "to show off our performing arts
space."
According to the program notes supplied by Gonzalez: "Our production of ‘Willy Wonka" is based
on the famous Roald Dahl story ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’ This adaptation includes the
Academy-Award winning soundtrack, yet is truthful to the original story."
Songs in the show include "The Candy Man" and "Pure Imagination."
The cast includes: Grace Easterly as Willy Wonka; Derek Griffin as Charlie; Summit Starr as Candyman;
Justin Brown as Grandpa Joe; Abby Paskvan as Veruca Salt; Michele Mathis as Violet Beauregarde; Baxter
Chambers as Augustus Gloop; Daniel Nabinger as Phineous Trout; Christina Gavarone as Mrs. Bucket; Declan
Wicks as Mr. Bucket; Emma Southwick as Grandma Josephine; Sara Drummer as Grandma Georgina; Jeremiah
Wrucke as Grandpa George; Hannah Strang as Mrs. Gloop; Joseph Young as Mr. Salt; Marquis Martinez as
Mike Teavee; Alexandria Like as Ms. Teavee; and Emily Myerholtz as Mrs. Beauregarde.
The production also features a vocal ensemble who play children and Oompa-Loompas and the creative
movement ensemble who play factory parts, clouds, squirrels and Willy Wonka’s imaginings.
Production team is: Gonzalez, artistic-stage director; Megan Arnold, producer; Adam Landry, vocal
director; Shawn Hudson, orchestra director; Carmen Rowlands, technical director and lighting design;
Eric Leonard, set design and construction; Nikki Myers, advertising; Christa Bringman, costumes; Deborah
Tell, choreography; and Alex Hann, sound design.
