By Lynda Lacayo
Let your inner child out and grab a “golden ticket” for a joyride of imaginary delights as Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” sugar spins its way into the Segerstrom Center for the Arts May28 – June 9, 2019. The magical, musical touring show is a sweet treat for the young and the young at heart. To sugarcoat a show designed with families in mind, the Segerstrom Center invites audiences to introduce youngsters to live theater with “Kids Night on Broadway,” May 28, 2019. Audiences will receive one child’s ticket free with the purchase of one opening night ticket at full price.
“The Candy Man” and cast of amusing players sing and dances audiences into Willy Wonka’s world of “Pure Imagination.” In Candyland all things are somewhat bizarre. For Wonka and the golden ticket winners eccentricity is simply second nature. Among the weirdly wacky characters Mrs. Gloop, played by Kathy Fitzgerald, is the cherry frosting topping this tasty cake.
Fitzgerald entered Wonka’s world in the Broadway production and continues, in Director Jack O’Brien’s words, to spread joy throughout the country in the touring production. Fitzgerald is a character actress with a comedic wit. She relishes the “character” label because she says, “I’ve made a living as an actress for about 40 years now. I’ve been lucky. I love what I do and I usually get the interesting roles.”
Of landing the role of Mrs. Gloop, Fitzgerald says,“She’s quite a fun role and a pleasant change for me after being on Broadway as Madame Morrible in ‘Wicked’ for many years. Madame Morrible is very serious, she’s the antagonist and not very nice. Mrs. Gloop is silly and full of life. And yeah, she overfeeds her child. She’s like the clown of the show.”
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” isn’t all sticky sweetness; it’s concocted with plenty of dark chocolate scenes. Fitzgerald describes it as “a musical comedy with deeper tones because it has its dark moments. ‘Charlie’ is a lot about parents making wrong choices for their children. These parents, except for Charlie and his family, are really horrid and their kids are all awful and spoiled rotten. The deeper, darker side of the show is that bad things happen to the overindulged offspring.”
But, Fitzgerald continues, “It’s a fun family show that’s not really that dark. It’s more a question of what’s wrong with these parents and why are their parenting skills so bad. ‘Charlie’ is about wonder, imagination and laugher”
“At first I thought she was over the top,” Fitzgerald says of her character Mrs. Gloop, mother of Augustus, the gluttonous Bavarian sausage eater. She continues “I couldn’t find anyone in real life quite like her and then on an overseas trip, I encountered this woman who kept asking questions and never stopped laughing. She was obnoxious but full of joy. And I thought, OMG, that’s Mrs. Gloop. The Gloops are joyful. Of all the onstage parents they are the most loving. Mama Gloop over-laughs, over-shares and over-feeds her son but she really loves him.”
Mrs. Gloop is quirky as can be, especially when it comes to her sausage eating son. As Fitzgerald explains “when we started on Broadway the first thing the prop people showed me was this huge table of wieners. All the different types of sausages used in the show. Mrs. Gloops’ sausage obsession is weirdly quirky. She carries sausages in her purse and in her pants. In our family Gloop song ‘More of Him to Love,’ I twirl wieners around like a feather boa. It never stops, she’s constantly filling Augustus full of hotdogs.”
Mrs. Gloop may be silly and goofy but Fitzgerald enjoys playing her because of her joyfulness and love of her child. She says with a chuckle, “Mrs. Gloop is about love and overfeeding her son. I can relate to that because I overfeed my cats. I just want my cats to be happy. Another way we’re a little alike is that I’m pretty funny as a person and I like to laugh a lot.”
Dahl’s Tale of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is a cautionary one about winning a trip to a mysterious factory where candy grows on trees and chocolate rivers flow but that sugary gooeyness is not as sweet as it seems. In Wonka land good kids have a happy ending but naughty tykes meet their demise. This may very well be the reason that adults have been cast in all the children’s roles, except that of Charlie. Fitzgerald says “In workshops, we tried using both kids and adults. The comedy just works better with grown-ups in the children’s roles. I mean, you wouldn’t want to see a real child sink into a chocolate river or being torn apart by nasty squirrels. Using adults to play children gives us an opening wedge to do crazy comedy. I think it’s a great concept because Charlie stands out as a real and his innocence is all the more amplified because he’s the only 11 year-old on stage. Utilizing grown-ups is such a good thing because it makes a scary story less scary.”
The thing that most touches Fitzgerald about “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is exiting the stage door and seeing how into the musical youngsters are. She says “They want our autographs and we can tell the children are so moved. Last night (in San Diego) there were these two little ones just overwhelmed by emotion and so excited after seeing the show. We’re spreading happiness around like Willy Wonka’s Everlasting Gobstopper. That’s something to be proud of.”
Fitzgerald recommends “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to families and adult audiences alike because it’s a great music-filled extravaganza that is appealing to all ages. She says “It’s magical, interesting, and funny. Children will be enchanted by the wonder of it. Adults will enjoy the grownup humor. Come see the show at the Segerstrom Center. I’ll wave my giant bratwurst at you.”
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” is playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Segerstrom Hall, May 28 – June 9. For tickets and information: Online, SCFTA.org; Phone, 714-556-787; the Box Office, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.
