Best of Nashville
Arts & Entertainment
Best Children’s Theater Production
Nashville Children’s Theatre’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Director Julie Brooks probably had her hands full pulling together the disparate elements of this multimedia revival of the Roald Dahl classic. That was her problem, of course. The rest of us enjoyed the live action, integrated seamlessly with prerecorded video sequences; the goofy music derived from various sources and quirkily connecting the scenes; and the strange costumes and flying set pieces. The top-flight cast—Patrick Waller, Brian Webb Russell, Bobby Wyckoff, etc.—certainly didn’t hurt, either. In an offbeat twist, the Oompa Loompas were hand-and-rod puppets. This production wasn’t like the movies at all, but was quite interesting regardless. In fact, some grownups might’ve enjoyed it more than the kids did. MARTIN BRADY
