Thanks to the release of the movie “Wonka” last year, there are now three distinct cinematic takes on the character of Willy Wonka. For Virginia Rep’s upcoming stage production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” most people involved seem to be looking to the original 1971 movie for inspiration.
“I was thoroughly entertained by the Johnny Depp film,” says co-director Todd Norris. “But for me, the Gene Wilder film is the gold ticket standard, if you will.”
The actor that Norris and fellow co-director, Paul Takács, have chosen to step into the iconic role, Matt Shofner, says he fits the bill by at least one measure.
“I kind of have the Gene Wilder hair thing going on,” laughs Shofner. “So my Willy Wonka is going to have at least a little bit of that influence.”
In a local stage career that stretches back to 2009, Shofner has excelled in projecting some of theater’s biggest personalities, from Snoopy in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” to Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Show.” But he’s looking to an unexpected source for additional inspiration for Wonka.
“He’s got a little bit of Hedwig,” says Shofner. The actor won acclaim for his performance in the lead role of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in 2015. “He’s just 100% authentically playful.”
Of course, one of the aspects that defined the original Wilder performance was the somewhat sinister undertone he captured in the character.
“We’re really blessed in having Matt play Willy,” says Takács. “He gets the very tricky, razor’s-edge balance between the dark and the sweet. It’s a very complex performance and he’s really making some magic with it.”
Despite his many bravura performances, Shofner hasn’t had a mainstage role since starring in TheatreLAB’s 2019 production of “Urinetown.” But he hasn’t exactly been sitting on his hands: he’s the co-founder and executive director of Yes, And! Theatre Company and balances those responsibilities with a full-time job as a voice-over artist for the CoStar subsidiary, Homes.com.
Even though he felt like the role of Willy Wonka was right for him, he debated whether he could commit to it. “There were a collection of reasons why I ultimately decided to go forward,” Shofner says. “One was the challenge itself.”
Shofner suffered a vocal hemorrhage in 2018 that required surgery but he jumped right back into action afterward, starring in three shows in a row in 2019. “That ended up being overwhelming,” he says. “That, plus the pandemic, sent me into a place where I thought I really needed to slow down.”
Five years later, he wants to ramp his activity level back up. “I think I need the challenge of getting back into physical shape – in my body and in my voice – to take on more performance opportunities,” he says. “Because I miss it, you know?”
Shofner is coming back for a production so big that it needs a co-directing team at the helm. “It’s just a huge show,” says Norris. “Sometimes when Paul is working on some blocking there will be other actors not on stage, and I can talk to them while Paul’s still working. It’s nice to be able to have two trains running at the same time.”
Norris and Takács are working from a script first directed in 2013 by Sam Mendes in London, breaking weekly sales records there before moving to Broadway in 2017. It hews closely to the now well-known tale of an impoverished and angelic Charlie Bucket finding a golden ticket in a candy bar that offers him, and a select number of other children, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory.
Norris uses Looney Tunes cartoons as a touchpoint for the script’s sensibility. “Horrible things happen to those cartoon characters but they’re always okay in the end,” he says. “This script really embraces that.”
“On one side, you’ve got this bonkers insane world with these terrible children,” he continues. “But what’s really risen to the top for me is the beautiful, lovely moments between the Bucket family members.
“They are touching moments with beautiful songs. They’re just going to bring tears to people’s eyes.”
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will play on VA Rep’s November stage, 114 West Broad St., from Dec. 5 to Jan. 12. Tickets and information available at https://va-rep.org/.
