Pure Imagination

This was a magical weekend for my son, Jonathan (the 13 year old).  He actually became Willy Wonka.

Our homeschool drama group put on the play/musical Willy Wonka Jr.

No, seriously. He wore the purple coat and the trademark top hat in a remarkably comfortable manner.  He wielded the glass-top cane as if he had been doing it all his young life.  He totally became Willy Wonka.

And to mom and dad's everlasting relief, he even sang pretty well, too.  (*insert a heavy sigh of great parental relief here*)

The show had many delightful moments. You (obviously) had to use your imagination, but it was easy to do.

Of course, there was the chocolate river that Augustus (the appropriately stuffed gluttonous kid) fell into:

And we managed to turn a lovely (if bratty) young lady...

into a big, fat, gum-chewing blueberry... (this still cracks me up. =D)

Not to mention the army of Oompa-Loompas which I have been stressing about dressing, but who look just adorable and appropriately fussy - don't you agree?

(They glowed in the dark, too.) =D

The sets turned out wonderful. The costumes inspired. The audience was delighted.

And when he declared, "I am Willy Wonka, the greatest candy-maker of all time," it didn't take much of a stretch of the imagination for us to believe him.  ;-)

(Oh, yeah....I cried every single time he sang it. Shut up. I know. *blush, blush*)