ROALD DAHL'S WILLY WONKA to Open at The Scottish Rite Theater This Week

Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka will open at The Scottish Rite Theater July 22 and run through July 31. Based off of the 1971 version of the movie with Gene Wilder, Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka features a cast of young performers from the McGuigan Arts Academy ands supported by a cast of award winning actors and musicians from Omaha. Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka includes classic songs like "Pure Imagination", "The Candy Man", "(I've Got a) Golden Ticket", "Oompa-Loompa-Doompadee-Doo", "I Want It Now" and more!

Leading the cast of incredible talents is Brinlee Roeder as Charlie and Jay Hanson as Willy Wonka.

Brinlee is an 11-year-old student at Millard Public Schools who has already made her mark in the Omaha theater scene. Brinlee has been nominated and won several awards for her work in shows such as Annie, A Christmas Carol and Once all performed at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Nominations include an OEAA for Outstanding Youth Performer for "Molly" in Annie and Outstanding Youth at the OCP for her starring roles in Annie, A Christmas Carol and Once. Brinlee took home her first OEAA win for Outstanding Youth in a Musical for her 2021 performance of "Tiny Tim" in A Christmas Carol.

Jay Hanson has been creating professionally for over 20 years, having worked in the recording studio with artists ranging from Snoop Dogg to Larry the Cable Guy and clients National Public Radio, ESPN and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy"; sharing performances with music notables including Hootie and the Blowfish, Cake, Taylor Dayne & David Lee Roth; lending his voice-over, singing and script supervising talents to DIC Entertainment's cartoon series "Strawberry Shortcake", "DinoSquad" and "Horseland". Jay is the Lead Guitarist and an original member of Yesterday and Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience and has been recognized for his performance as "Guy" in the Omaha Community Playhouses production of ONCE, earning him an OEAA nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and win of the OCP's Mary Peckham Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.

The scenery for Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka will be as impressive as the performers on stage. The Scottish Rite Theater in downtown Omaha was chosen as the venue for this particular show because of their unique collection of hand-painted theatrical drops, dating back to the 1950s. These historic and hidden gems will create the perfect backdrop as we travel to Roald Dahl's land of pure imagination!

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