Willy Wonka in Waynesboro

In Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Willy Wonka, owner of a chocolate factory closed to the outside world, decides to open his factory again to a group of lucky children who find one of five golden tickets he’s hidden in his candy bars.

In Waynesboro, the Waynesboro Players theater group, a once-upon-a-time children’s theater provider, has opened its doors yet again to provide an opportunity to children to experience the wonder of working theater.

“It was as if the lines faded over the years,” said WP president Charles Lawson. “The doors never shut, the projects just kind of phased out.”

The last time the Players presented a children’s theater project was 1988 and it presented shows such as “The Hobbit” and “The Velveteen Rabbit.” Lawson is hoping that interest for childrens’ fare has returned.

So, from May 27 to 30, in conjunction with Imagine That! Theatre, the Waynesboro Players will present “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka” at the Louis Spilman Auditorium at Waynesboro High School.

“People are staying closer to home and not taking vacations as much due to the economy,” Lawson said. “And there’s a group willing to work with the kids that has more resources. Imagine That! does summer workshops for the children and the Waynesboro Players offers the opportunity to do them.”

Morgan Smith, producer of “Wonka” and Imagine That! boardmember since 2004, sees the need, saying that auditions are attended by about 100 children.

“We want to be available for them to take care of the kid’s projects,” she said. “It was a significant part of [the Waynesboro Players’] program.”

As in the original story, “Wonka” offers children a chance to win a prize, only instead of it being five children who win, the Players offered the chance to about 40 kids said the show’s director Claire Covington.

“We have a cast of about 50 people and the majority is kids. We have only 11 adults in the play,”she said. “It’s a chance to help them develop in theater.”

A lot of the adult roles are played by children she said, including Charlie’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bucket. Only the main adult roles had to be played by adults, such as Charlie’s grandpa Joe, played by Bob Wright, and Willy Wonka, played by Alejandro Rosa.

The part of Charlie, a tween is played by Aaron Crosby, a Buffalo Gap senior.

“Charlie is usually played at around 8 to 10 years old,” Crosby said, and this has caused the 18-year old to research the changes he needed to make to play the part.

“I had to make my voice light in sound and my words choppier, you know, how little kids talk,” he said.

Plus Crosby is taller than a younger kid would be, which he says puts a different spin on the classic hugging scene at the end of the show due to his difference in height.

“Every day I see stuff or discover something new to do as a little kid,” Crosby said. Working with the other children in the cast has been able to provide him with other food for thought.

“As an actor I am playing a little kid in my heart, playing different parts just like when they pretend. I like to work with little kids, their imaginations are so full.”

Rosa also likes to interact with the children on the set and has used their examples to aid in his depiction of Wonka.

A newcomer to a Players project, Rosa is one of the ensemble with Golden Duck Productions and his usual fare is that of murder mysteries. So, Rosa thought playing an eccentric candymaker would be an interesting diversion from his usual palette of characters.

“I was curious about the role,” Rosa said. “I have found it to be challenging, interesting and a fun character to be. Working with the kids is interesting and challenging too. All they want to be is kids and they tend to give it their 100 percent. They really get into it and look natural.

“The kids make it easy for the adults to play around too,” he said. “And in the end, Wonka finds what he’s looking for and the throne is passed on because of Charlie’s genuineness. It’s a sweet message and it’s heartwarming.

For some of the children, “Wonka” is their first experience working in theater and old hands on the set feel it will give them a real taste of what theater experience is like.

“It’s beneficial to the kids,” said Covington. “It helps them maintain focus and with the adults working right alongside them, they have a comfort person near them when they get nervous,” she said.

“For a show this large, the group is very loving and supporting.”