By , Special to JTNews
The stage at the Stroum Jewish Community Center will light up this January with a play performed by kids in the JCC’s Spotlight Youth Theater program.
Robin Wehl, director of youth and family services, decided to revive Spotlight after witnessing firsthand the success of the summer drama camps and listening to the requests of parents and children to bring back theater year-round at the “J.” “We have such a wonderful facility, auditorium, sound system, and lights,” she added.
The first production, “Attack of the Vermicious Knids,” opens Jan. 17, with a cast of 14 kids ages 7 to 13. The play is an adaptation of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, the sequel to the popular children’s book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl.
Adam Herzig, 25, a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, directs the play, which he describes as “an all-around fantasy-adventure story for kids. There’s lots of sound and light, and it’s hard to get bored. It’s fun for kids to see a sequel and revisit some of the characters they fell in love with in the first place.”
Herzig has worked as a director and assistant director for several theater troupes in the Seattle area, including Live Girls; a theater that specializes in female playwrights, Elastic Productions, and Theater Shmeater. He also taught drama at the JCC’s Summerstock camp last year, and encouraged a lot of the kids who participated to audition for the production.
Aimee Rapke, 13, who plays Charlie, describes the play as “science-fiction and fantasy all put together.” The great glass elevator that shoots up into outer space is a kind of “Star Trek Voyager,” with chocolate factory owner Willy Wonka as captain, and young Charlie as “the faithful companion.” Charlie, Willy and their cohorts must save a commuter capsule of U.S. astronauts from being devoured by the vermicious knids, whom Aimee describes as “these huge blobs with red eyes that don’t have a mouth and can change shapes.”
Harry Spitzer, 12, relishes his role as the ostentatious Willy Wonka. “Willy Wonka is a really outrageous character; he is basically crazy,” he said. “He’s the kind of person that always has an answer for everything. My favorite part about this play is that it’s completely unrealistic and you get to do all these fun special things you wouldn’t get to do in a regular play.” Spitzer, who hopes to be either a lawyer or an actor when he grows up, participated in the JCC’s Summerstock program for the past two years and is especially pleased to be working with a lot of the same kids during this production.
Spotlight Youth Theater presents “Attack of the Vermicious Knids” in the JCC’s Benaroya Auditorium at the Mercer Island Facility, 3801 E. Mercer Way, Jan. 17—27. Performances take place on Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $6 adults, and $4 kids and seniors. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Robin Wehl at 206-232-7115, ext. 254.