Annoyed by local radio stations that switch to 24 hours of holiday music on November 5, as well as stores that set up holiday displays before Halloween, I wasn't all that keen on seeing a Christmas musical in early November. However, Irving Berlin's White Christmas is my kind of holiday production: It's light on its emphasis on Christmas cheer, and plays out as a musical that just happens to take place ahead of the holidays.
The requisite imagination present in Quad City Music Guild's production of Willy Wonka is provided in great part by Bill Marsoun's scenic design. He's come up with some clever visuals to tell the tale of Charlie Bucket - portrayed as female here by Laila Haley - finding a golden ticket and joining four lucky, and bratty, children on a tour of Wonka's Chocolate Factory.
When it matters most, the Playcrafters Barn Theatre gets A Miracle Worker right, and does emotional justice to author William Gibson's tale of Annie Sullivan (Cayte McClanathan) teaching the blind, deaf, and mute Helen Keller (Emma Terronez) how to communicate through sign language. The scenes shared by McClanathan and Terronez are powerful, and their chemistry palpable, in Annie's fight to force young Helen to learn, and Helen's stubborn efforts to resist. But in truth, Saturday's performance didn't really find its footing until McClanathan and Terronez first shared the stage about halfway through Act I.Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts
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