This spring, Calvary University’s Theatre Department will be exploring a world of pure imagination! Willy Wonka is based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The story follows five children who each find a golden ticket and are granted the opportunity to explore the mysterious chocolate factory owned by the infamous candy man himself, Willy Wonka.
Willy Wonka is the first of Roald Dahl’s books to be brought from the silver screen to the stage. While it is often written off as a feel-good and wrongs-righted story, behind all of its whimsical charm, it presents powerful messages. Every child in the story is given the same “golden ticket”, and each is tempted by the desire they crave most. As we already know, each child fails to withstand temptation. This idea plays into themes that can be found within Willy Wonka, as well as some of Roald Dahl’s other writings, including greed, friendship, justice, and the power of the human mind. True to his unique style of writing, Willy Wonka celebrates the quirky personalities of each character and embraces lessons that can be learned from them.
Join the colorful characters of Willy Wonka as they venture into a candy dream, traveling through fantastic rooms filled with absurdities, from lickable wallpaper and nut-sorting squirrels to Oompa Loompas and everlasting gobstoppers. Reserve your tickets to this adventure today!