Get Your ‘Golden Ticket’ for ECASD’s Production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Note: This is the first in a three-part series featuring the production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Parts two and three will feature Q&As with the lead characters.

Make sure you have your “Golden Ticket.” Ellwood City Area School District is set to debut Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

There are burps, there are squirrels, there are Oompa-Loompas, and there is chocolate!

It’s a big production with a big cast.

According to Choral Director and Musical Producer Felecia Greco, following two years of having to navigate the COVID pandemic, this year it was time to get back to a full-scale production that could include more performers.

“We decided to go big this year,” she said. “Willy Wonka is a fun and lighthearted show.”

This year the production will again feature elementary aged students and the kid’s chorus. First and second graders will be featured in the production as squirrels and third-sixth graders will portray Oompa-Loompas.

The leads, many of which are underclassmen this year, are packing a load of talent.

“This production is well suited for our kids,” Greco said. “And for the audience there is a lot to see and experience. There are amazing sets and special effects.”

In addition to the spectacular sights, Greco added there will be Wonka Bars, some of which will contain prizes. Could it be a “Golden Ticket”?

Although the cast will be wearing masks (Greco said this was a strategy to keep the students healthy and avoid delays or shutdowns of rehearsals), there will be no restrictions for the audience and masks will not be required.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a musical based on the 1971 American musical fantasy film starring Gene Wilder. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The film tells the story of a poor child named Charlie Bucket who, after finding a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar, visits Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory along with four other children, Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt and Mike Teavee. When these four children get to the factory, we see how spoiled and demanding they truly are. After breaking all of Willy Wonka’s rules, each one meets an interesting and appropriate end to their tour. The tour ends and Charlie and Grandpa Joe are now the only remaining guests. Wonka tells Charlie that he created the contest to find someone worthy enough to inherit his factory, so when he retires he will give it to Charlie and his family.

In 1972, the film received an Academy Award award for Best Original Score, and introduced the song “The Candy Man”, which went on to be a popular hit, recorded by Sammy Davis Jr.

Performances of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory  will be held on Friday, March 4th at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 5th at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 6th at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at the following link: https://www.showtix4u.com/events/wonka  The Saturday matinee tickets are all sold at a discount and tickets will also be available at the door before each performance.

Cast members include:

Willy Wonka and Grandpa Joe – Mark VanHorn

Willy Wonka and Grandpa Joe – Hunter Rock

Charlie Bucket – Aryanna Nielsen

Augustus Gloop – Samantha Davis

Veruca Salt – Peyton Confer

Violet Beauregarde – Leslie London

Mike Teavee – Lila Fox

Mr. Bucket, Mr. Gloop and The Candy Man – Hayden Slade

Mr. Salt and Grandpa George – Gabriel Bungar

Mrs. Bucket – Paige Moffatt

Mrs. Beauregarde – Beth Keener

Ms. Teavee – Abigail Ellsperman

Grandma Josephine – Olivia Andrews

Grandma Georgina – Mary Houk

Phineous Trout – Lynden Beinhauer

Sophie and Ooompa Loompa #3 – Nevada Lewis

Billie – Calista Poole

Danny – Alexis McClean

James and Oompa Loompa #4 – Chase Ramsey

Alfie and Oompa Loompa #1 – Jayme Duncan

Matilda and Oompa Loompa #2 – Isabella Kudlac

Oompa Loompa #5 – Noah Rhodes

Chefs – Gabriel Bungar, Jayme Duncan, Abigail Ellsperman, Paige Moffatt, Chase Ramsey, Mara Ramsey

 Ensemble:

Santino DiNucci

Addyson Karis

Charli Madison

Mara Ramsey

Ava Rape

Arianna Salvucci

LenaRose Smith

Jacen Weathers

Eric Woodend

Children’s Chorus:

Scarlett Almquist

Addy Andrews

Sierra Berglund

Zayn Blust

Tesla Brady

Olivia Cirelli

Skylarr Cline

Eliza Convery

Abigail Davis

Korie DeJoseph

Landon Dombeck

Aubrey Edwards

McKayla Eichler

Juliana Fazenbaker

Riley Festog

Jeff Frye

Arianna Gilmore

Jayden Glasgow

McKinley Hoellein

Ellery Hooker

Olivia Jewell

Maddie Jones

Adelind Kelosdy

Lucy Kelosky

Christina Lane

Evelyn Marshall

Annabelle Martin

Ashley McDaniel

Adalinn McQueen

Prentice Miller, Jr.

Riley Milliron

Kinsley Minerd

Savanna Mravintz

Claire Pander

Myla Simeoni

Cienna Valvano

Hailey Venezie

Natalie Warneke

Chloe Williamson

Makenna Woloszyn