A sweet surprise
When film director Mel Stuart wanted to get "real reactions" from his young stars in the 1971 classic children's movie "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory," he used surprises on the set and captured the reactions.
"When everything looks new and exciting, it's easy to look amazed by it all," said actor Paris Themmen, who played bratty Mike Teevee in the first film adaption of author Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
"We were working, but it was also a lot of fun at the same time."
Themmen, 49, was one of the two child actors who continued to act after making his film debut in the legendary movie that starred actor Gene Wilder as candy king Willy Wonka. Julie Dawn Cole, who played rich and spoiled Veruca Salt, also continues to star in movies and television projects while living in London. Themmen, who lives in Los Angeles, gave up acting in 1998 and now works as a financial consultant.
It's very rare, but every once in a while someone actually manages to get the rights to produce a stage version of "Charlie and Chocolate Factory."
Well, we are in luck this summer.
Since Saturday was my dad Chester's 79th birthday, I wasn't able to get out to the press opening, but I still plan to check out Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's new musical "Willy Wonka," which runs until Aug. 17 at Navy Pier.
Due to the terms for securing the rights, this 70-minute production is technically categorized as "children's theater," but audiences of all ages will love the tale of sweet-natured Charlie Bucket and four other golden-ticket winners on a tour through Willy Wonka's larger-than-life candy factory, where nothing is quite as it seems. I'm told the folks at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre spared no expense. This musical treat for the whole family features music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and such memorable songs as "The Candy Man," "I Want It Now!" and "Pure Imagination."
The details and characters of Dahl's classic book, along with some influences by the popular 1971 film version (which Dahl hated) are brought to life on stage through theater magic and song in the first professional production of Willy Wonka since its development at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Tickets are $18 to $23, and the production is recommended for children 5 and older. For tickets, (312) 595-5600 or www.chicagoshakes.com.
As for Themmen, he was just 11 years old when he was cast to play Mike Teevee, the 9-year-old in the cowboy hat obsessed with watching television.
"I always looked much younger than my actual age when growing up," Themmen said.
"It's pretty common for movie casting directors to hire older children to play younger roles, because they have an easier time learning all the lines and following directions."
One of Themmen's favorite scenes is the first time Willy Wonka opens the doors to the inner main room of his factory and the five lucky golden ticket-holding children get their first glimpse of the candy landscape.
"None of us got to see that set until the moment it was captured on film," he said.
"So all of those reactions and facial expressions you see are real."
As for the eating frenzy seen throughout the film, Themmen said the basic way to tell what was real and what wasn't is to notice what the actors and actresses are shown eating.
"If you see us eating it, then it was real," he said.
"They had food designers on the set to shape and create all the things you saw onscreen. For example, the lickable wallpaper with fruit shapes was made with fruit jams that were molded and dried."
Themmen said even though he hates to spoil the "illusion of the original film," many of the larger candy landscapes were not real. The only exception is the large lollipops, which were real and quite edible. Sometimes, the actors had to pretend candy props were real. For example, in the opening scene in the factory's chocolate waterfall landscape, Wilder's Wonka character drinks from a daffodil flower cup and then takes a bite out of the flower. The flower cup actually was made from wax.
Themmen said one of his favorite souvenirs from the movie is a photograph taken during a break in filming of himself surrounded by Wonka's little helpers, the Oompa-Loompas.
He said since the movie was filmed in Munich, Germany, many of the little people hired from the area to play Oompa-Loompas didn't speak English and, therefore, some of the song lyrics heard coming from the little orange faces had to be dubbed.
Besides his time spent on the movie set, some of Themmen's favorite memories are the time he spent sightseeing and traveling in Germany while making the film. He even learned to speak some German. He said the last time he was reunited with all the other former child stars from the film was during an event in 2001 to honor the 30-year anniversary of the film's premiere.
As a fan of actor Johnny Depp, Themmen said he also enjoyed director Tim Burton's 2005 remake of the film, which starred Depp as Wonka.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.
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