Laura Power
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 16, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - Spectators be warned: if you're looking for a reproduction of the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book this weekend, that's not what the students of Sir John Franklin High School will provide.

Hailey McLeod plays Veruca Salt in Sir John's performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. - Laura Power/NNSL photo

"It's definitely not what you'd expect when you think of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," said Jesse Kamitomo, who plays both an oompa loompa and Charlie in the play.

"Instead of those weird little orange people, the oompa loompas are all gangsters now."

That's right - gangsters. The group of 45 student actors have indeed put together a wildly different show, narrated by pimps and accented with fluorescent paint and black lights.

Landon Peters, who is directing the play, said music by groups such as the Beastie Boys has been incorporated into the play.

"It's got pretty much a real hip hop slant to it, so it's kids doing a lot of dance," he said.

Another unique feature of this high school production is the way it was cast. As Cordel Corothers, a Grade 12 student who is playing the parts of Willy Wonka and an oompa loompa, explains, the main parts are triple-cast. He will share the role of Willy Wonka with two other students.

"It's an experience for me 'cause anything else I've done was small cast," he said.

Having different actors play the same part also brings some variety to the presentation of the show, he added.

"Each show is so different," Corothers said.

The students involved in the production have been working on it since September. In recent weeks, they have been practising every day and during Drama 10 and Drama 20/30 classes.

"They're pretty ready to go - they probably could have run with it last week," Peters said on Tuesday. "I think they're excited to finally put it up on stage, you know, they worked pretty hard at it."

The first productions of the show were scheduled for yesterday morning and afternoon for students, followed by a performance last night which was open to the public. Another performance will be held tonight at 8 p.m., and tomorrow there will be a matinee at 2 p.m. and another 8 p.m. show.

All performances are at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.

"I don't think it'll be disappointing for people," said Peters.