Tucson theater brings endearing 'Willy Wonka' to the stage

Saguaro City Music Theatre kicks off its third season of performances next weekend with Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka” musical.

It’s the first of three musicals on the three-year-old nonprofit company’s 2024 season lineup.

“There have been so many versions and iterations,” said Saguaro City artistic director and cofounder Drew Humphrey. “The one that we’re doing is about 75 minutes long ... and closely represents the Gene Wilder version from my youth.”

The musical stage version of “Willy Wonka,” based on English children’s author Dahl’s 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” borrows liberally from the 1971 Hollywood version, which should surprise no one. The theatrical version was reimagined by the English composer and lyricist Leslie Bricusse and British singer-songwriter Anthony Newley, who worked on the original film.

You’ll hear several songs from that movie, which featured Gene Wilder as the eccentric chocolatier Wonka, who plants golden tickets in candy bars and invites the lucky ticketholders to experience the magic and mayhem of his magnificent chocolate factory.

Don’t be surprised to hear the audience hum along to “Pure Imagination” (“Come with me/and you’ll be/In a world of pure imagination”) and “The Candy Man” (“Who can take a sunrise (who can take a sunrise)/Sprinkle it with dew (sprinkle it with dew)/Cover it with chocolate and a miracle or two?/The Candy Man (the Candy Man)”).

“This show really scratches that nostalgia itch,” Humphrey said.

The cast is largely comprised of children and teens enrolled in Saguaro City’s summer camp program that kicked off June 1 and culminates in the “Willy Wonka” performances June 21-23 at the Berger Center for the Performing Arts.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Saguaro City cast the adult roles, including Catalina Foothills High School senior Wesley Geary in the roles of Candy Man and Mr. Salt, after auditions in April, Humphrey said.

Geary, who started his theater journey eight years ago in a kids program similar to Saguaro City, appeared in Saguaro City’s recent production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Saguaro City will perform “Willy Wonka” at 2 p.m. Friday, June 21; 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23, at the Berger Center, 1200 W. Speedway, on the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind campus.

Tickets are $25 for adults and free for children 17 and younger with paid adult admission if you are unable to pay the $10 suggested children’s ticket. Tickets are available through saguarocity.org.

In October, Saguaro City will turn its attention to the jukebox musical “Million Dollar Quartet,” featuring music by Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. It runs Oct. 4-20. And we’re no longer in Kansas, Toto: from Dec. 20-Jan. 5, 2025, the company is mounting the ageless magic of “The Wizard of Oz.”

For details, visit saguarocity.org.