Children’s theatre production lets kids use ‘pure imagination’ in Willy Wonka

Ashley Fowler
Staff Writer

Charlie Bucket, Veruca Salt, Augustus Gloop and the whole factory gang will take the stage next week, for the Children’s Theatre of Long Beach’s (CTLB) production of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka.
Performances are scheduled for: Thursday, May 15 at 7pm; Friday, May 16 at 7pm; Saturday, May 17 at 5:30pm; and Sunday, May 18 at 2pm at California Heights United Methodist Church, 3759 Orange Ave.                                     
CTLB is a new company serving families with school-aged children. Willy Wonka will be the company’s first mainstage performance, with families participating in the play together.
Sean McMullen is the CEO of CTLB and is the director of the production. He said that the mission of the company is to produce plays for children and their families that teach positive lessons.
“Willy Wonka is all about that,” McMullen said. “I’ve always loved Willy Wonka. It gave me hope as a child. It’s about the fact that you can mess up and be forgiven, and that life isn’t about being perfect all the time. I just have to not be Augustus Gloop, right?”
CTLB is fully funded by ticket sales, private donations and ad sales in production programs. On its Facebook site, CTLB lets the community know how it can help.

“We could always use a hand,” McMullen said. “When we have set-builds or if we need help sewing costumes, we post that stuff. So, if you like our page, you see those immediate needs.”
But more importantly, McMullen said, the company needs the community to come to the shows.
“What these guys are doing is amazing,” McMullen said.
Tickets are available online up to one day before the performance at $15 for adults and $10 for children 10 and under. Tickets are also available at the door for $20 for adults and $15 for children under 10.
Next fall, the mainstage performance will be an adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit by CTLB board member Bethany Price. The following spring, CTLB will present The Diary of Anne Frank.
“So, we will be taking on some pretty meaty stuff,” McMullen said. “Children’s theater should have some depth as well as breadth. Hopefully next summer we’ll offer Shakespeare.”
It’s not just the lessons within the plays that McMullen hopes the children learn. He also hopes that the company will serve as a community for them.
“I think the bond that they form when they are in the hallways running lines or running around is what keeps them coming back,” McMullen said. “I’ve seen kids come here who might be teased at school because they have a history there and come here into this environment and…have blossomed in the last four or five weeks that we’ve been together.”