MS. TEAVEE Ms. Teavee is a take on all television moms of the distant past. Think June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) or Marion Cunningham (Happy Days) or even Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch). She’s perfectly put together and a bit vacant. She sings “I See It All On TV” but does not require a polished voice. VIOLET BEAUREGARDE Gum chewer extraordinaire, Violet hails from Snellville, Georgia, so it’s nice if she has a Southern American accent, but not necessary. Violet should stand in stark contrast to Veruca Salt. Veruca is a wealthy refined brat; Violet is more of a bluecollar, middle class brat. She sings “Chew It” along with Willy Wonka. The song is a tour-deforce for the right voice, so cast a young lady with strong voice. VERUCA SALT Veruca is the wealthy, class-conscious, spoiled brat. She is often portrayed with a high British accent that is by no means required (brats come in all nationalities). Veruca’s solo number “I Want It Now” is deceptively tricky and comes late in the show, so select a young woman with a strong voice. Veruca should contrast sharply with Violet Beauregarde in terms of look and physical type. GRANDMA JOSEPHINA, GRANDMA GEORGINA, and GRANDPA GEORGE Charlie’s three grandparents are mainly non-singing character roles. Cast performers that are innately interesting, who have good comic timing and are solid actors. These actors can double as OompaLoompas in the second half of the show. JAMES James is Charlie’s friend from school. He has a few lines and sings the introduction of “The Candy Man” along with Matilda and Charlie. MATILDA Matilda is also a schoolmate of Charlie’s, but she’s a bit of bully. Matilda has a few lines and sings the introduction of “The Candy Man” along with James and Charlie. THE CANDY MAN KIDS (a.k.a. SOPHIE, DANNY, ALFIE, BILLIE and additional kids as needed) These kids sing “The Candy Man” and their numbers may be expanded as you see fit and your program will allow. The names of the characters have been drawn from other Roald Dahl books. Feel free to assign additional names to match the number of performers you cast. (All students like to go home and exclaim “I’m playing Alfie in Willy Wonka JR.” versus “I’m just Kid 2 in ‘The Candy Man.’”) You may also cast a single class (say the sixth grade chorus) to perform these roles, as they appear only in this number unless you choose to double them as Cooks and Oompa-Loompas. CHORUS OF COOKS Please note this is an optional chorus. The Cooks appear during “I Eat More!” presenting Augustus with a smorgasbord of food choices. (Check out the Director’s Guide note in the song for more information.) Double the Candy Man Kids Chorus and OompaLoompa Chorus or cast a single class of kids to perform this section. MRS. BEAUREGARDE Mrs. Beauregard is a teacher of geography and has invested a great deal of hard-earned money on therapy for her orally fixated daughter, with less than stellar results. The role is virtually non-singing. Her accent should match Violet’s.
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