The holiday season seems to produce a rash of plays for children, and this end of year is no different. I’d also like to say up front that all three shows reviewed here are very enjoyable productions.
Three Shows for Young Audiences/Alligator Pie (Soulpepper), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (YPT), and The Wizard of Oz (Canadian Stage)
As it happens, these shows are all based on famous books. The oldest is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900), followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964) and Alligator Pie by Dennis Lee (1974). The latter two are celebrating their 60th and 50th anniversaries, respectively, so taken together, these three beloved books have been delighting children for many, many decades.
I was certainly aware of the scary aspects of The Wizard of Oz, but I subsequently discovered that both Dahl and Lee include a dark side in their writings as well. Friends who are either teachers or parents (or both) told me that children love mayhem, menace and mystery, and delight when all manner of bad things happen.
Who knew? Thus, it’s also interesting to note that all three shows, ironically, are jolly musicals.
One hopes that as well as entertaining children, there will be some enjoyment factor for adults who have to go along as chaperones, and I’m glad to report that big folk will have a delightful time at the productions, although for different reasons.
Thus, here are the three shows for children in the order that they close.
Soulpepper Theatre/Alligator Pie, co-created by Ins Choi, Raquel Duffy, Ken MacKenzie, Gregory Prest and Mike Ross, with new contributions by the 2024 Soulpepper Academy, based on poetry by Dennis Lee, Young Centre for the Arts, closes Dec. 29. Tickets here.
Alligator Pie is, of course, based on Dennis Lee’s famous collection of children’s poetry. Lee specifically wrote these poems to create a Canadian identity for children’s literature, and Canada, Ontario and Toronto references abound.
The show was an instant hit when it was first produced in 2012, and was remounted several times. It was created and self-directed by a collective of former Soulpepper Academy graduates, and that original Alligator Pie is contained within this new production.
The performers — Alicia Barban, Belinda Corpuz, Ben Kopp, Ruaridh MacDonald and Haneul Yi — are present members of the Soulpepper Academy, which is the advanced training arm of the company. These newbies have contributed a good chunk of additional material, but director Severn Thompson and the cast have made sure to retain the same whimsical and fanciful nature of the original.
That is the charm of Alligator Pie as these talented stars of tomorrow sing, act and dance their way through this romp, and what a delightful romp it is to be sure. Some poems are rendered as songs, some are acted out in scenes, and some are monologues, but there is always a colourful visual component to each with the cast pulling out props and costumes as needed from the plethora of boxes littered around the stage.
This production of Alligator Pie is marked by invention and imagination.
Wonderful things are done with everyday objects like umbrellas, staplers, and bubble wrap. There are also several times where the audience is asked to participate so they can be part of the fun.
The original cast played a wide range of instruments, so this new lot does as well, with some of them probably having to learn them for the show. Did anyone have experience with an accordion, for example?
Dennis Lee’s poems are variously silly, saucy and irreverent, and as a result, the actors convey a constant sense of children at play, and the wonder of discovery that that entails.
Even adults can’t help but be drawn into this unabashed world of fantasy and joy.
YPT/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, book by David Greig, original music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman, (with songs from the 1971 movie), based on the book by Roald Dahl, Young People’s Theatre, closes Dec. 30. Tickets here.
This has to be a first for YPT — mounting a big West End/Broadway show, but with minimal forces — namely, a cast of 12.
Mounting this big musical has been a minor miracle, but it works. At the packed school matinee I attended, the children involuntarily gave a mighty cheer when Charlie found the Golden Ticket, that’s how involved they were with the show.
The musical based on Roald Dahl’s popular book opened in London in 2013 before moving to Broadway in 2017. Since then, there have been productions all over the world. The musical is an inspired choice for YPT, given how much Dahl’s book is beloved.
Director Thom Allison and his creative team deserve some kind of medal for bringing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to life on the small YPT stage, given the many different locations that are needed to tell the story and the plethora of characters involved. It probably took the precision of a military drill team to execute what is happening backstage.
This show has been pulled off by a wizardry of stagecraft with Bandon Kleiman’s clever set of moving pieces, Laura Warren’s transformative projections, and Ming Wong’s fanciful costumes, the latter requiring fast changes, given people playing multiple roles.
The 12 members of the cast are each associated with a character, but at the same time, we need Oompa Loompas, and nine of them rise to the call. That’s one heck of a juggling of costumes and timing. Of course, it gets easier as the disobedient children are dispatched so they and their parents can be Oompa Loompas full-time.
The three who are never Oompa Loompas, of course, are Charlie Bucket (Breton Lalama), his chaperone Grandpa Joe (Larry Mannell), and Willy Wonka (Michael Therriault), all of whom do a bang-up job.
It’s particularly nice to see Therriault on stage in Toronto again. His top notes might be quivery, but he still can deliver a charismatic performance.
There are some delightful vignettes.
For example, when we are introduced to Golden Ticket winner, ballerina-obsessed Veruca Salt (Caitlyn MacInnis) and her father (David Webb), it is in the form of a ballet pas de deux.
Another amusing scene has the awful Mike Teavee (Nick Boegel) reduced to being a figure on a television screen, much to the delight of his harried mother (Deann Degruijter) who can turn him off when she wants. Degruijter is another veteran it’s good to have back on stage.
Now one might complain that adults are playing children — in the original London production, children were children — but Lalama, MacInnis, plus David Lopez as Augustus Gloop, and Ruth Acheampong as Violet Beauregarde do a good job of playing young.
Director Allison has delivered a lively performance abetted by the vigorous choreography of Allison Plamondon and the tuneful music directed by Jeannie Wyse.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a sweet (pardon the pun) show that will please both adults and children alike.
Canadian Stage in association with the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres/The Wizard of Oz, script by Matt Murray, contemporary pop songs arranged & orchestrated by Mark Camilleri, directed by Ted Dykstra, very loosely inspired by the book by L. Frank Baum, Winter Garden Theatre, closes Jan. 5. Tickets here.
The Ross Petty Pantomime is back, and both children and adults are delighted.
The children love to boo the villain, while enjoying the silly goings on, as the adults chuckle at the double entendres embedded in the script that go sailing over the heads of the young’uns.
It is this dual nature of the Ross Petty Panto that been the template of this holiday tradition for over 25 years, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Incidentally, Petty is listed in the program as executive producer emeritus, and long may he reign.
Seasoned Panto playwright Matt Murray knows how to toy with well-known stories and turn them on their ear.
This Wizard of Oz is set in Torozto with the territory of the Wicked Witch of the West (Vanessa Sears) being the Ozzington district. Dorothy (Julia Pulo) and her guardian Plumbum (Dan Chameroy) — yes this long running drag role is back — have been hurled by the tornado from Guelph.
In their journey they meet the Scarecrow (Eddie Glen) — and how can there be a Panto without Glen — the Lion (Saphire Demitro), and the Tin Man (Jonathan Cullen), with the latter becoming Plumbum’s heartthrob. Now it turns out that the Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Man all used to work for the Witch and were transformed by her when they realized her criminal activities.
There is always a running joke in the Panto, and in this show, it is Plumbum’s toilet problems (to phrase it politely). There is also a terrific six-member ensemble who dance and sing up a storm, while understudying the main cast.
To try and find out why Dorothy was given the Ruby Slippers and discover who her real parents are, the friends have to travel to the CN Power and find the Wizard.
Now just who plays the Wizard is a surprise and I won’t spoil it. Of course, anytime an “o” can be converted to an “oz” in a word, it is.
For adults, there are lots of funny references about the likes of Joe Rogan, Danielle Smith (is she really gay?), of course Justin Trudeau, Pierre Polievre, Nuit Blanche, Yelp and the carbon tax.
The best line in the whole show, however, comes from Plumbum. As the dark clouds of the tornado begin to swirl around, and someone asks, “What’s happening?” — Plumbum says, “the Ford Family picnic”, which got a huge laugh.
Over the years, director Ted Dykstra has proven he has a tremendous sense of humour, and that is reflected in the total upbeat nature of the Panto. He has found a laugh everywhere he possibly can. Jennifer Mote has provided the eye-catching, kick-ass dance numbers which add a special energy to the show.
The production values are top drawer. Kudos to the clever set by Michael Gianfrancesco, the cute costumes by Ming Wong, the colourful projections of Cameron Fraser and the great lighting by Bonnie Beecher. The result is a fabulously classy looking show.
I have one complaint, however. As usual, three children were brought up on stage to solve a riddle. Usually, they are given a toy. This time they left empty-handed, and it was bad form. Would someone please go out and buy a chocolate bar or something to give the kids?
And, while it’s not exactly a complaint, I miss the commercials filmed with the cast. Sponsors and advertisers are listed in the program, so CanStage has to get them to spring for a filmed ad spot so I can get these very funny inserts back again.
Propelled by a strong cast and a clever script, The Wizard of Oz is a slick, polished and sophisticated show.
Hurray! The Ross Petty Panto is back!
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