Bay Area Children's Theatre Presents Roald Dahl's WILLY WONKA For Young Audiences

Bay Area Children's Theatre (BACT) is celebrating the holidays with a musical treat for the whole family, a version of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka specially written for young audiences, based on Dahl's timeless book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and featuring the catchy tunes from the original Gene Wilder movie.

Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka opens Friday, November 10, at the BACT Theatre Center, 2055 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704, and plays through Sunday, December 31-Fridays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

The musical then moves to San Francisco, where it opens at the Children's Creativity Museum, 221 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, Friday, January 5, and plays through Sunday, January 21-Fridays at 6:30 p.m. ; Saturdays at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.; and Sundays at 10:30 and 1:30 p.m.

For Friday night performances, BACT is again making the evening easy for busy families by offering each audience member a free slice of pizza.

TICKETS: $15 - $27

BOX OFFICE: www.bactheatre.org or call (510)296-4433

Families will follow the adventures of Charlie Bucket, as he finds a winning ticket in a candy bar and becomes one of five lucky children to tour the mysterious chocolate factory owned and operated (with the help of the Oompa-Loompas) by eccentric Willy Wonka, the self-proclaimed "greatest candy maker of all time."

Seven actors, playing 4-5 characters each, will create the colorful and wildly imaginative world of the chocolate factory where anything can happen . . . and does.

Michael Mohammed directs and choreographs the production, which has been adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy Allen McDonald, with music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka is recommended for age 5 and up.

((high res .jpg attached of Juan Castro as Charlie Bucket. Photo credit: Melissa Nigro))

ARTIST

Michael Mohammed, director and choreographer, returns to BACT after directing Pippi Longstocking and Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children's Musical. Mohammed's directing credits include Candide (Douglas Morrisson Theatre), The Full Monty (ACT, MFA program), X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X (Oakland Opera Theater), Wilde Boys (New Conservatory Theater, BACC winner: Best Musical), The Unsung Diva (NY Fringe Festival), The Marriage of Figaro (Opera On Tap) and Carmen (Mendocino Music Festival). Mohammed directs the Musical Theatre Ensemble at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where his productions have included Nine, Company, Bernarda Alba, World Goes Round, and La Boheme. He is on the faculty at the San Francisco Community Music Center and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, and is working on his PhD through Columbia University. A classically trained singer, he performs regularly in musical theatre and opera in roles including Mitch (The 25th Annual...Bee, Busbarn Theater), Little Truth (The Great Big Also, Mugwumpin), Sister (Marat/Sade, Thrillpeddlers), Bertarido (Rodelinda, Handel Opera Project), and the title role in Handel's Orlando (Black Box Baroque).

About Bay Area Children's Theatre

Established in 2004, Bay Area Children's Theatre, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves more than 110,000 children and adults throughout the Bay Area, with main stage performances in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco; programs and productions in local schools; and classes and summer camps in the East Bay and San Francisco.

Our Mission: To inspire young audiences with imaginative productions, introduce children of all backgrounds to the excitement of live theatre, and create an engaging, entertaining, and educational environment in which children and their families can explore and enjoy the arts.

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