BETHEL - From the effervescence that permeated even the grayest of early scenes in the recent production of Willy Wonka , which opens Friday, August 11, at  Walnut Hill Community Church.Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the producers, volunteers, and young thespians involved with NewArts summer theater program have now channeled their energies into the exuberant

Featuring 75 area youth actors in this cast, this musical interprets the Biblical story of Jacob's son Joseph, who overcomes the misfortune visited upon him by his jealous, conniving brothers, through strength of character and perseverance. It will run August 11 at 7 pm, August 12 at 2 and 7 pm, and August 13 at 2 pm.

To help make the show more accessible to our community, children 3 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult, sitting on an adult lap; tickets for children ages 4-12, accompanied by an adult, are $10; and groups of 15 or more can benefit from special pricing available by e-mailing boxoffice@newarts.org. Advance regular admission tickets for $17.50 to $27.50 are available at newartstickets.ticketleap.com.

After viewing a final preview of the dual-cast Willy Wonka, with its bubbly Broadway star Jim Stanek, engaging young adult cast, and dozens of darling little children portraying the excitable Oompa-Loompas,The Newtown Bee caught up with Director Michael Unger for a quick look back. This Roald Dahl version of the Willy Wonka musical represented Mr Unger's ninth NewArts production since the program began under the leadership of Newtown physician Dr Michael Baroody, who initially launched the initiative as the 12/14 Foundation.

The director said he thought the reason Willy Wonka cast and crew were so engaged with the production - with audiences as the ultimate beneficiary - was the immersion of all the young participants not only into their onstage or backstage roles, but with their intensive daily involvement in this summer's first comprehensive camp-like experience that began weeks ahead of opening night.

A Full Camp Experience

"This year was the successful launch of a full-time camp idea," Mr Unger said. "In the past we only had them here when they were needed for rehearsals or other work, which was tough on them and on the parents, who were basically on call to get them here and pick them as scheduled."

Mr Unger said Program Director Alex Aug, who had just finished a gig with a touring children's theater troupe, was a perfect fit, bringing energy, countless children's theater games and exercises, and a great knowledge of the town and many of the production members to the table.

"I was agonizing at the beginning of the process wondering how we were going to schedule things with her," Mr Unger said. "But she basically agreed to remain onsite throughout the program, taking just a few, or a few dozen, kids on at a time, depending on who might be needed for rehearsals, choreography, costume fitting, and so on."

The full-time nature of the NewArts program this summer also allowed for many, if not all, of the cast members to engage themselves contributing to the show in other ways - painting prop or scenic pieces or crafting costume elements.

"They even helped create the blue goo that audiences saw in the mixing room before the big blue gumball scene," Mr Unger said. "It was really super fun."

Ms Aug was assisted by intern Lina Silver, who was a child performer in New York, and who helped with the program as well as with choreography.

"This 9 to 4 thing helped cement a special bond between the kids, the crew, and the visiting artists because they were with them all day - and I think the kids bonded more as well," he said.

Another major challenge was staging a number of special effects, and the nature of the scenes in Willy Wonka, which involved an extensive number of locations that all had to be affected quickly, often with sparse set pieces and props.

"The thing about Willy Wonka that makes it so different from last summer's School of Rock, or Wizard of Oz, was visiting one place at one time, and then you move on to the next location," Mr Unger explained. "The locations were really complicated because of some of the many set pieces we had to use; but our set designer helped figure it out for us. And we also needed to coordinate getting all the kids involved getting those set pieces coordinated accurately and safely."

The show also employed an ambitious video projection system that is installed in the Walnut Hill theater.

"Walnut Hill has this incredible projection system, so I thought it would be fun to use the kids on stage, and represented in video clips as they are affected by whatever happened to them," he said. "Of course, because some of the costume and prop pieces weren't done until very late in the game, our video sound designer spent a few sleepless nights editing this stuff."

Once Joseph closes August 14, Mr Unger will have very little time before he launches into auditions for this winter's production of A Christmas Carol, which will also be staged at Walnut Hill Church, in December. Learn more or support NewArts at newarts.org.

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