Willie Wonka Jr.

One of the exciting things about middle school at Stuart-Hobson is the chance to be part of the musical. Back in Kindergarten, Nora's class got a chance to be part of the Stuart-Hobson production of Annie, and just last year Owen's 5th grades class at SWS was part of Into the Woods, so when Owen had a chance to be a part of this year's production of Willie Wonka Jr. he jumped at the chance.

We thought Owen might want to ease into things and be part of the stage crew for his first play as a 6th grader, but he decided to go ahead and audition for a role. He chose to try for the role of Grandpa Joe because he didn't have to sing for the audition, but it's actually one of the bigger roles in the play with several songs to sing. When he got the part, Owen jumped into the role enthusiastically. We were a bit nervous about him memorizing all the lines, and singing on stage in front of a huge crowd, but he did a great job preparing for it. (It might have helped that Nora devoured his script memorizing much of the play too, so she could lead her friends in a recess production of Willie Wonka Jr. Jr., so Owen had a willing partner to practice with at home ;-)

The premiere on Friday night was amazing, the theater was packed, the sets were beautiful, the kids running the lights and sound did a great job, the cast was wonderful, and we couldn't have been more proud of Owen. With two more shows on Saturday (a matinee as one of the kids while we were at Nora's orchestra concert, and another evening performance as Grandpa Joe), Owen had a whole great weekend to relish the attention. It really was a great experience for him being part of such a huge production, and pulling it off! We can't wait to see what they'll do next :-)

(click here for all the pictures)