Expectations for Broadway鈥檚 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have already smashed through the glass ceiling, and choreographer Joshua Bergasse intends to deliver.
鈥淚 think people are expecting magic,鈥� says the Tony-nominated choreographer. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to deliver that in an honest way so that it all makes sense.鈥�
For Bergasse, that means starting with the story and its characters鈥攁nd what a cast of over-the-top caricatures he has to work with. Among them, the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, commanding Veruca Salt, attention-craving Violet Beauregarde, and superficial Mike Teavee and their parents. In this production of Roald Dahl鈥檚 children鈥檚 novel of the same name, songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman bring to life each of these four bratty golden ticket winners with their own celebrational number. Bergasse 鈥渦sed their music as my roadmap,鈥� to find and infuse routines with an outlandish Willy Wonka feel, first tackling Augustus鈥� song, 鈥淢ore of Him to Love,鈥� on his way to discovering the movement style for the entire musical.
鈥淚 just started looking around and researching and I found this Bavarian folk dance, this slap dance that鈥檚 really outrageous,鈥� says Bergasse of creating the German feel for the Gloops. 鈥淭hen somehow a cuckoo clock came up, so we were like, 鈥榃hat if they were in a cuckoo clock?鈥� That zaniness kind of set the tone of what the rest of what [the Golden Ticket numbers] would be and what the show really is.鈥�
Even after finding the key to the show鈥檚 style, choreographing Charlie was not without unexpected challenges. 鈥淭he hard part of it was that at the same time we wanted to make a great number for each of them, we had to make them unlikeable,鈥� says Bergasse. 鈥淥ne of the hardest ones was Violet, because the song is so good. When we first did it, everybody loved the number and her so much and I realized that can鈥檛 be. They can鈥檛 be rooting for her; you have to think she鈥檚 awful.鈥�
But not all of Bergasse鈥檚 dance possessed such opposing forces; he had a ton of fun creating the infamous Oompa Loompas and he added in a gentle ballet for Charlie鈥檚 hardworking mother in her song 鈥淚f Your Father Were Here.鈥�
鈥淭hat was [director] Jack [O鈥橞rien]鈥檚 idea,鈥� says Bergasse. 鈥淲e were going through the script and he said, 鈥榃hat if there鈥檚 a dance here? What if the ghost of Charlie鈥檚 father comes back?鈥� And I loved it.鈥� In one of the most touching moments of the show, Charlie鈥檚 parents dance together but never touch, as Bergasse suggests through movement that Mrs. Bucket鈥檚 memory of her husband may be too much for her.
The story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has always been one of excitement, bubbling with tenderness beneath the surface. When it comes to Bergasse and his creation, this balance of thoughtful and comical, graceful and explosive hits the sweet spot.
