Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at The Ruth

I won a golden ticket and got to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at The Ruth last night.  It is absolutely magical and I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting to (I think it is much better than the Broadway touring production).  Willy Wonka (Thomas Wood), the world's greatest chocolatier, laments that making chocolate has become bitter for him and he wants to find someone to take over his factory.  Charlie Bucket (Porter McCormick) is an imaginative boy who loves chocolate but, because his family is desperately poor, he can only afford one chocolate bar a year on his birthday.  Wonka decides to invite the five children who find a golden ticket hidden in one of his chocolate bars to tour his mysterious factory and soon four children from around the world, Augustus Gloop (Hudson Lee), Veruca Salt (Lucy White), Violet Beauregarde (Mak Milord), and Mike Teavee (Liam Kaufman), find them.  Charlie dreams of finding the last ticket and Grandpa Joe (Mark Pulham), Grandma Josephine (Karen Shield), Grandpa George (Joel Applegate), and Grandma Georgina (Bonnie Whitlock) encourage him but his mother (Kimberly R. Muhlestein) warns him not to get his hopes up.  Charlie doesn't find one in his birthday chocolate bar but Wonka contrives to give him another one with a golden ticket inside.  The children join Wonka in the world of pure imagination but four of them give in to their negative impulses.  The greedy Augustus falls into a chocolate waterfall after being warned not to drink from it, Violet the show-off blows up into a giant blueberry after she wants to be the first to try an experimental piece of gum, the spoiled Veruca is pulled apart by the squirrels who sort the nuts after demanding one for herself, and the screen addicted Mike is shrunk inside a TV after abusing WonkaVision.  Charlie gives in to his imagination and sneaks a look at Wonka's designs but this convinces Wonka to take him on the Great Glass Elevator and give him his factory.  What I disliked about the Broadway version is that the second act gets bogged down with all of the projections and technical wizardry so I was impressed to see The Ruth replicate the same magic with just sound and light cues and practical effects (the way they have Violet blow up into a giant blueberry is very clever).  I really loved the performances, especially the adorable McCormick as Charlie (I loved his exuberant rendition of "Willy Wonka! Willy Wonka!") and the charismatic Wood as Wonka (his versions of "Pure Imagination" and "The View From Here" are lovely but I really enjoyed his comedic timing and hilarious facial expressions).  I was also quite moved by Muhlestein's performance of "If Your Father Were Here" and Kaufman's physical performance in the invisible corridor is incredibly impressive.  The sets are really fun, particularly Charlie's crooked house with the giant bed full of grandparents and Wonka's factory filled with edible flowers, and so are the costumes (the Oompa Loompas are depicted with elaborate costumes and synchronized movements so, in my opinion, their portrayal is not as problematic as in some other versions).  This show will never be a favorite (I still think most of the songs are pretty unmemorable) but The Ruth's production is fantastic and I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here).  It runs at the Smith Grand Theatre through December 31 (there is a special New Year's Eve performance with refreshments and a midnight countdown).