Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Spotlight Players

Before the Factory Gates Open…
A Mother, a Daughter, and a Community of Dreamers Bring Roald Dahl’s Beloved Story to Life
“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”
— Roald Dahl

MATAWAN, N.J. – Most people think magic announces itself with fireworks. Roald Dahl knew it usually begins much more quietly. Sometimes it begins with a chocolate bar. Sometimes with a child who refuses to stop believing. And sometimes, it begins in the basement of a church.

This August, Spotlight Players invites audiences into Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the beloved Broadway musical based on one of the world’s most enduring stories. Filled with unforgettable songs, inventive stagecraft, colorful characters, and all the delightful eccentricity audiences have come to expect from Willy Wonka’s extraordinary world, the production promises laughter, heart, and a reminder that kindness never goes out of style.

But the story audiences will see on stage is only half the story.

Long before Charlie unwraps his Golden Ticket, before the chocolate river begins to flow, and before the Oompa Loompas deliver their wonderfully pointed observations, another story has already begun behind the scenes. It’s the story of artists, volunteers, families, and dreamers who gather night after night to build something none of them could create alone. Piece by piece, rehearsal by rehearsal, they transform lumber, fabric, paint, music, light, and an enormous amount of heart into a place where audiences can believe, if only for a couple of hours, that the impossible might just be possible.

Community theatre asks ordinary people to do extraordinary things after work.

The Story Behind the Story

Before anyone steps inside Wonka’s factory, someone has to imagine it.

For Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, that responsibility belongs to co-directors Christine deSimas and Sophia deSimas, a mother and daughter whose creative partnership has grown out of years of conversations about theatre.

Long after most audiences have gone home, the two are usually still talking about the show they’ve just seen. They replay scenes during the drive home, debate character choices over coffee, imagine different ways to stage a moment, and challenge one another’s ideas. Somewhere along the way, those conversations stopped being hypothetical. Their first collaboration as co-directors, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, confirmed something they had quietly suspected all along.

They simply work better together.

For Christine, sharing the director’s chair with her daughter has become one of the greatest joys of her theatrical life.

“I’m just the luckiest. Sophia is so creative and has such a good eye that I can’t imagine doing this without her. We bounce ideas off each other constantly, and when something finally clicks, we both know it. We can be honest with each other because we’re always working toward the same goal.”

Sophia is just as quick to return the compliment.

“I learned from the best before I realized I did. Growing up with a director gives you an eye for storytelling before you even know you’re learning it. Every rehearsal leaves me grateful that I get to do this with my mom.”

Their perspectives are different, but their vision is shared. Christine naturally gravitates toward the emotional heartbeat of a story, while Sophia brings a fresh perspective and an instinct for visual storytelling. Together, they’ve built something every creative team hopes to find: a partnership where ideas are challenged, trust is never questioned, and the work is always stronger because it’s created together.

Building Wonka’s World

When audiences arrive on opening night, they’ll see the finished product. The orchestra will begin, the lights will rise, and Wonka’s factory will spring to life as though it has always existed.

What they won’t see are the hundreds of decisions that made those moments possible. The conversations over sketches spread across a rehearsal table. Costume fittings that run a little longer because someone has found the perfect detail. Set pieces rebuilt after a better idea emerges. Music rehearsed again. Lighting cues adjusted one more time. Community theatre is built in moments like these, one conversation, one problem solved, and one act of generosity at a time.

Christine is the first to point out that Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory isn’t the vision of one director. It’s the result of an entire creative team choosing to build something together.

“The production team is very unique and special, and it’s difficult imagining doing this without them,” she says. “Charlie is definitely a sum of its parts. From the talented eye to the genuine love and care that goes into every choreographed movement, sketch, build, lighting cue, sound cue, marketing piece, stage management note, costume, and our producer who’s always on top of it all… every single person is invested in making this show the very best it can be.”

Then she says something that explains everything.

“They’re my people.”

Those three words tell you almost everything you need to know about this production.

Producer Frank Rosano keeps the countless moving pieces moving forward. Choreographer Emily Rosano fills the stage with energy and storytelling through movement. Music Director Teddy Kernizan shapes the musical heartbeat of the production, while Stage Manager Lauren Hynes somehow keeps every rehearsal, entrance, prop, and cue moving in harmony. Scenic Designer Gwen Heffron, Lighting Designer Alex Fritsch, Costume Designers Dina Hunt and Sonia Trench, Sound Designer Sophia deSimas, and a dedicated team of volunteers each bring their own artistry to Wonka’s world. Individually, they’re experts in their craft. Together, they’re building something none of them could create alone.

For Christine, the collaboration itself has become one of the greatest joys of directing.

“I’ll come to them and say, ‘How about this thing?’ and nobody laughs. They always ‘yes, and…’ me. They see it too, then build from it in ways I couldn’t imagine on my own.”

That’s the kind of trust every creative person hopes to find.

Community theatre asks ordinary people to do extraordinary things after work.

Every piece of Wonka’s factory was built by someone who could have been somewhere else that evening. Instead, they chose to paint scenery after dinner. They chose to sew costumes after putting their own families to bed. They chose to rehearse after work, learn music, hang lights, answer emails, organize props, build sets, create choreography, solve problems, and imagine impossible things.

Not because anyone asked them to.

Because they believed a story was worth telling.

And because they believed an audience deserved to walk into a chocolate factory.

Every piece of Wonka’s factory was built by someone who could have been somewhere else that evening.

The Company That Makes It All Possible

Walk into a rehearsal for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and one thing becomes immediately clear.

This isn’t just a cast.

It’s a community.

Children rehearse alongside adults. First-time performers share the stage with longtime Spotlight Players veterans. Parents watch proudly from the audience while volunteers quietly paint scenery in the next room. Between scenes, laughter fills the rehearsal hall as choreography is practiced one more time, harmonies are polished, and someone inevitably discovers a new joke that sends the room into hysterics.

It’s wonderfully organized chaos.

Nearly forty performers have come together to tell Charlie’s story, each bringing their own personality, experience, and imagination to Wonka’s extraordinary world. Some have spent years under stage lights. Others are stepping into a production of this scale for the very first time. Several of the youth roles have been double cast, creating opportunities for even more young performers to experience the joy, responsibility, and excitement of live theatre.

For Christine and Sophia, one of the greatest surprises has been watching the company shape the production in ways they never expected.

“The talent that came out for this show has been amazing,” Christine says. “Everyone genuinely wants to be here. It’s the best environment to create in.”

Sophia smiles as she talks about the youngest members of the cast.

“The kids surprise us all the time. They discover things about their characters that neither of us had even considered. Watching them make those discoveries has been one of the greatest joys of this process.”

Perhaps that’s the most remarkable thing about community theatre.

No matter how carefully a production is planned, it never truly belongs to its directors.

It slowly becomes the cast’s story too.

Each rehearsal adds another layer. A new laugh. A different reaction. An unexpected moment that suddenly feels so right it couldn’t have happened any other way. The production grows because every person in the room is invited to leave a little piece of themselves inside it.

By opening night, the audience won’t just be watching Charlie Bucket’s journey. They’ll be watching the work, imagination, and heart of an entire community standing together under the same lights.

Performance Information

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Presented by Spotlight Players

August 7, 8, 14 & 15 at 7:30 p.m.

August 9 & 16 at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets:our.show/spotlight/catcf

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About Spotlight Players

Spotlight Players is a nonprofit community theatre dedicated to producing high-quality theatrical experiences that entertain, inspire, and bring people together. Through musicals, plays, educational opportunities, and the work of passionate volunteers, Spotlight Players celebrates the power of live theatre while creating a welcoming home for artists of all ages.

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