WILLY WONKA JR Will Be Performed By Laurel Little Theatre Beginning Next Week

Laurel Little Theatre wraps up their 60th anniversary season with the hit musical, "WILLY WONKA JR."

The show runs five performances: Thursday & Friday, June 3-4 at 730pm; Saturday, June 5 at both 2pm & 730pm; and Sunday June 6 at 2pm.

The LLT reservation line is now open and answers 24 hours a day at 601.428.0140. Full houses are expected, so reserve early. Make a reservation in advance, and then the ticketing is done at the performance.

The production is LLT's annual Kids' Camp - a full week of rehearsals and workshops that ends with the 75 students performing the musical.

The show is well known from the best-seller book and movie versions: Candy impresario Willy Wonka is staging a contest to find five lucky winners to tour his magical Chocolate Factory - but secretly, he's on a quest to find an heir.

Lovable Charlie Bucket and four other lucky kids find 'Golden Tickets' that win them a lifetime of candy - and the tour of the factory.

Northeast Jones sophomore Jacob Scott plays 'Willy Wonka' and 'Charlie Bucket' is cast with West Jones incoming freshman, Sammie Mitchell.

'Charlie's' parents and grandparents are played by West Jones Middle School 8th grader Isabella Edwards, Taylorsville High freshman Chloe Gunter, Laurel Christian freshman Jacob Hill, West Jones freshman Anne Trest, Northeast Jones 8th grader Avery Walley and Richton Jr High 8th grader Morgan Walley.

The other lucky Wonka ticket winners include 'Augustus Gloop' played by Stringer Attendance Center freshman Andrew Wohlscheid, and his mom, 'Mrs. Gloop' is cast with Wayne Academy sophomore Kaitlyn Busby.

'Veruca Salt' and 'Mr. Salt' are played by South Jones 7th grader, Avery Manning, and Laurel Christian sophomore, Will Thompson.

'Violet Beauregard' and 'Mrs. Beauregard' are cast with West Jones 8th grader Averi Cockrell and Laurel Christian junior Zoe Vanderslice.

Glade Elementary 4th grader Landon Brewer plays 'Mike Teavee' and Dana Felder, sophomore at Presbyterian Christian, is his mom, 'Mrs. Teavee.'

Other roles are cast with Caroline Knight, a 6th grader at East Jones Elementary, Faith Hudson, a 4th grader from Long Beach, MS and Watkins' High junior Xavier Washington.

The chorus of the infamous orange Oompa Loompas, The Candy Man Kids, Squirrels and The Cooks includes 70 students from 10 counties all around the Pine Belt area. They represent 27 different schools.

Featuring famous songs from the movie like "The Candy Man" and "Pure Imagination" in a whole new memorable score, it's guaranteed to delight everyone's sweet tooth.

A "Wonka Dessert Party" takes place on Saturday, June 5th, from 1030-1130am. Guests will be treated to a tea party with assorted sweets and chocolates, and a photo session with the characters from the musical. Cost is $10 and is very limited in size. Go to the LLT website LaurelLittleTheatre.com for a link to make reservations.

Show Director is Rebecca Green, a teacher and drama director at Northeast Jones High School. The overall Camp Director is LLT board member Toni Cockrell.

Music direction is handled by Ricardo January and choreography is headed up by Lauren Hankins.

LLT's Covid safety protocol for this season includes required masks (bring your own), distancing, temperature checks and hydrostatic cleaning of the theatre between performances.

Suggested for ages 4 and up, everyone in a seat must have a ticket. LLT ticket members can use their punches. Single tickets are $15 ages 13 and up, and $10 for ages 12 and under. This is the junior version of the show that runs a little over an hour.

For further info, check LaurelLittleTheatre.com or write to LLTLaurelMS@aol.com

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