by lisa lipsey –
Have you heard? About the five children from around the world who won a golden ticket entry to Mr. Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate? This is the premise of Roald Dahl’s popular children’s book, turned movie (twice-over), turned musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
My brother and I loved the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder as the eccentric Willy Wonka. There were so many wacky adventures that the kind and helpful Charlie, his Grandpa Joe, and the other four naughty children went through together. Not to mention the antics of the Oompa-Loompas.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory first opened on Broadway in 2016, after a run in London for over three years and two Olivier Awards. In 2018, the touring cast and crew hit the road and they have finally made their way to California. While we wait in anticipation for Wonka’s gates to open, The Rage Monthly spoke with Daniel Quadrino. He plays one of the golden ticket
winners, Mike Teavee, the high-energy, adventure-seeking television-loving cowboy. With Wicked and Newsies under his belt, Quadrino is no stranger to youthful roles in lively Broadway productions.
“They did a really great job adapting it from film to the stage. It has all the parts we know and love from the Gene Wilder film, with parts that are a perfect match to the book, and there are nods to the modern Johnny Depp film.”
One cool tidbit for San Diegans is uber-talented Jack O’Brien, friend of the Old Globe, directed this production. “I auditioned for Jack O’Brien and the creative team in March,” recalled Quadrino. “All the producers were there, it was fun to play and be bold like I was 11-years-old.”
He grew up in Long Island, on the south shore and he said it was a neighbor who signed Quadrino up for his first dance class. “My Mom made me go, and I loved it. From third through eighth grade, I took six classes a week and I had also fallen in love with singing by then. At age 17, after 12 auditions, I was cast in Bye, Bye Birdie. My life feels like a whirl-wind, I went to PACE University for musical theatre, then I was cast in Newsies on Broadway, Peter Pan Live on NBC, and Wicked. I am so thankful for everything that has happened.”
“It’s a fun family show, grab your kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids and anyone needing a good laugh. It is an awesome cult favorite, and there are jokes kids won’t get that adults will,” he shared. “The scenes with the Oompa-Loompas is amazing and I am not telling you anything else,” teased Quadrino. Regarding the story’s other madcap adventures, “We could use a little escape, and this show is so uplifting. They did a really great job adapting it from film to the stage. It has all the parts we know and love from the Gene Wilder film, with parts that are a perfect match to the book, and there are nods to the modern Johnny Depp film.”
Quadrino has been on the road for six months now. “It is neat being on tour, seeing and exploring all these great cities. You do get a little homesick, but I am lucky I have my dog, Jackson, on the road with me. He’s 22 lbs. of joy, a cavalier-mini-poodle mix, and like having a little piece of home!”
Quadrino gets a lot of questions from kids about getting into a Broadway show. “I tell them that getting a ‘No,’ is a full-time job. But I also say, let it fuel you, don’t let one rejection stop you. There are so many factors that go into casting a character; it could be that they want someone who is blonde not brown or five-foot-seven inches, not five-foot-nine, which has literally happened to me. I auditioned for Newsies 24 times before making it in the Broadway cast. With the kids around the country that I meet, I am just glad we can bring Broadway to them.”
For now, he is enjoying the little moments in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, “The other day in L.A., there were a lot of kids in the audience and one of them laughed so hard that it made the audience laugh, too. I also love the little on-stage mishaps. There is a chair jump in one of my numbers, one night during tech week I hit the leg of the chair and ate it really bad. That was scary for sure, but hilarious and I just kept going.”
The genius that started it all: Storyteller Roald Dahl
Dahl (1916-1990), was a bit of a Wonka himself, it seems. He was a spy, an ace fighter-pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor. Amongst his many stories, several others have been adapted for film and stage, including James and the Giant Peach and Matilda.
When describing his legacy, Broadway San Diego portrayed him as “Sitting in a hut at the bottom of his garden, surrounded by odd bits and pieces such as a suitcase (used as a footrest), his own hipbone (which he’d had replaced) and a heavy ball of metal foil (made from years’ worth of chocolate wrappers). He went on to write some of the world’s best-loved children’s stories.“
Broadway San Diego’s production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The Musical runs Tuesday, May 14 through Sunday, May 19 at downtown’s Civic Theatre. For tickets and more info, call 619.564.3000, or go to broadwaysd.org.
Orange County’s production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The Musical runs Tuesday, May 28 through Sunday, June 9 at Segerstom Center for the Arts. For tickets and more info, call 714.556.2787, or go to scfta.org.