To the Editor:
If you didn’t see the musical “Willy Wonka” held recently at Bayonne High School, you surely missed out on another great entertainment. The Gloops were hilarious: their mantra “Eat more! Eat more!” was certainly worth considering, though I’m glad that I wasn’t anywhere near the stage in the last showing or I might have been one of Augutus’ victims who he flung his food at. However, the Gloops did no damage to the sassy reporter when they sandwiched her between them. Phineous Trout remained poised, even when harassed by the rotten Veruca, who was nonetheless splendid on stage. Meanwhile, the opportunistic, but amusing Mr. Salt was so cracked, promoting his nut business while his rotten daughter kicked him around. The Beauregardes were a lovely riot with their tireless mouths, as the gum-chewing Violet managed to blow herself up into a blueberry beside her staggered, geography-expert, loud-mouthed, garish mother from Jersey. And what about the technology-crazy Teavees?—they were quite entertaining, I must say. And who strutted about with his cane and top hat, looking both wily and brilliant, but Willy Wonka of course. On the saner side, Grandpa Joe was as cool as his cart wheels—he graced the audience with one for each night!—Grandpa George was rather deft in acting deaf, the two grandmas so delightful in their frilly bonnets and frustrations, and Mr. and Mrs. Bucket just plain endearing as Charlie Bucket was sharp.
The rest of the cast—the Oompa-Loompas in all their oomph, the “squirrely” squirrels, the graceful cooks, and the lively children—all added colorful dynamics to this fantastic show. And last but certainly not the least was the Candy Man who “can” and did deliver such a fine performance.
Kudos to BHS Drama Society and everyone else who support the arts, especially the parents of these young performers, who are bound for success with their God-given talents through continued encouragement.
MICA SAYLOR