Willy Wonka!

Once we got past the initial excitement of Kylen being cast as Willy Wonka (I was over the moon excited!!  Wonka is ONLY my ALL TIME favorite fictional movie character!), the reality of the challenge hit home.  Kylen didn't sing much in his childhood, especially after illness robbed me of my singing voice and we switched to home church.  He resumed singing when he started voice lessons last year.  Although he's improved tremendously, it stretched him . . . A LOT!  We didn't realize just how much singing there would be.  You'd think the "musical" part of Willy Wonka Jr. the Musical would have tipped us off, but I was imagining Wilder with his short, random ditties.  Then Kylen got sick, and we experienced the stress of being a lead singer with a sore throat.  Through lots of prayer and tea, he made it and fared better than expected!  :)  Overall, it was an incredible experience.  He even got his first taste of fans when little children wanted to meet him and gave him drawings.

Construction was being done in part of the building, so they decided to paint the floor for fun!

Interesting door handles.

Presenting . . . Willy Wonka!

The oompa loomas were cute, a bunch of little girls with green wigs.

A simple hat change and jacket-to-vest transformed Wonka into the Candy Man.

The Bucket family.

Mrs. Gloop stole the show during her scenes.  She's an extremely talented actress.

Greg pulled two all-nighters to finish these boxes and a few other props.  Each time a ticket was found, a box would light up.  Then they would go out as each child was sent away.

Waiting to meet Wonka.

There will be no gum-chewing inside the factory.

Time to sign the contract.

So many extraordinary rooms!

I loved this scene with the pink candy boat.  It was brilliant the way they executed it.

Mr. Wonka at the helm.

Violet the blueberry!

This was hilarious!  They used a Ken doll for the shrunk version of Mike Teevee.

Of course, in the end, Charlie does the right thing and earns the ultimate prize: to become Willy Wonka's heir.

I loved, loved, loved this production, and it wasn't just because Kylen played a lead.  It was truly well cast, well done, and creative.  I take my hat off to the director, Jenna Solberg.  I could have watched every show and still enjoyed it.  We had good turnout from family and friends, which made it extra special for Kylen greeting them after the shows.

My brother celebrated opening night with us!

I started a tradition of presenting Kylen with a keepsake whenever he is cast in a lead role.  This time, I found a neat replica of a golden ticket and candy bar on Etsy.  I gave them to him at the restaurant after opening show.

We're so proud of this boy and excited to see how God uses theater in his future!