Isabella Kid Reporter — Cane Creek Middle School Musical by Isabella Zingarino

Lights, camera, action! If colorful costumes, toe-tappin’ music and amazing singing and dancing interest you, then you won’t want to miss the Cane Creek Middle School production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Performances are on Thursday May 10 and Friday May 11at 7 pm, and on Saturday May 12 at 3 pm.

Musicals are nothing new to the Cane Creek family. Their first musical production was You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, produced in 2001 with 43 students performing and 4 directors. Mr. Waller, one of the directors, told me that the musical had a great and positive response from the audience and the public, which led them to start doing a musical every year. In 2011, however, that changed, and now they put on a musical every other year.

Students and staff put in months of practice and effort to make each year’s musical memorable. They start out by holding open auditions for anyone who’s interested. During auditions the students are broken up into groups of ten. They all have to sing the same song together, then they sing individually, and finally they are assigned a certain part of dialogue to read. Auditions can take several days. You do not have to know how to sing, but it definitely helps. Also, you don’t audition for a certain role, you simply read from your assigned script. After auditions the directors choose the play and assign roles. They do not choose a play right away because they like to see what kind of singers they have so the play they choose will fit the cast’s abilities. Also, during middle school gentlemen’s voices start to change, so it’s often difficult to find voices to fit the parts. Rehearsals are held during school and after school, too.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory first became famous as a book by Roald Dahl. In 1971 the book was turned into the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. More familiar is probably the 2008 version titled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp starring as Willy Wonka. In 1996 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory opened as a musical on Broadway in New York City.

After talking to many members of the cast, I know that everyone has a blast rehearsing and performing for the audience. This production is fantastic and even better than I can describe. If you think this might interest you, then mark your calendars for May 10, 11 or 12. General admission for both adults and kids is $10. The production will be held in the Cane Creek Middle School cafeteria. For tickets and/or more information contact Cane Creek Middle School at 628-0824. Enjoy the show!