Book by Richard Kraft and Andy Fickman
Directed by Andy Fickman
Songs by Riki Lindhome, Daniel Mertzlufft, Doug Rockwell & Tova Litvin, Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner,, Megan Cavallari, Jennifer Lucy Cook, and Richard Kraft, and Kate Micucci
Review by Dominic Corr
The Golden Ticket of the Fringe has quickly melted into a paper-thin excuse to capitalise on a humorous, ‘meme’ event that had the world talking. Finally, erupting onto the scene with everything audiences could have expected, including a few additional surprise guests, but with a lot less magical saccharine than was necessary to fix this schlocky cash-in that is neither parody nor pastiche nor all that enjoyable. Willy’s Candy Spectacular attempts to continue the running gags (which have now ebbed) from the miserable Glasgow warehouse ‘magical experience’ where AI ruled the script, the performers tried their hardest to salvage anything, and the police were called in… more than once.
With a selling point before the actual show on the table, Willy’s Candy Spectacular surprisingly has a script. A half-baked introduction of Charlize (performed with genuine sincerity by Monica Evans) as the one child who actually enjoyed the infamous attraction despite the tears and half a cup of lemonade. They’re the heart of the show, but Eric Petersen’s antagonistic, two-dimensional showman Wonka is the face of the poster and the show – a thoroughly cartoonish performance with plenty of vim but nothing of substance as they decide that if the world wants to insult their attraction, they’ll turn on the crowds, in Andy Fickman’s all-over-the-place direction attempting to balance gags, cameos, in-jokes, and over fifteen songs baked up by far too many cooks.
The issue is that below the fluff, over-stimulating noises and repetitive storytelling, there’s some bloody decent talent in the performances: vocally and characterisation. Less a sweet surprise now the secret is out; the gimmick of casting June Dean Cole, who played Veruca Salt in the 1971 film, as the narrator, has some inspired choices as they offer threading between the many musical numbers and scenes. They’re suitably paired with this afternoon’s other celebrity appearance – oh yes, folks, the sad Oompa Loompa themselves, Kirsty Paterson, is in the Pleasance Dome.
Willy’s Candy Spectacular, unfortunately, lacks pure imagination. It fails to build or find a necessity to exist – a potential parody and satire of AI’s growing influence is squandered by too many hands in the cookie jar, all attempting to push their brand onto production. The show features a talented cast vocally, but their potential is wasted with forgettable lyrics and a water-thin concept that grates on audiences and causes itchy teeth. Now we just have to wait for the follow-up Channel 5 documentary of where Willy’s Candy Spectacular went wrong.
Lacks Pure Imagination
Willy’s Candy Spectacular runs at the Pleasance Dome until August 25th.
Running time: Sixty minutes without interval
Photo credit – David Monteith-Hodge
Review by Dominic Corr (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Editor for Corr Blimey, and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has been writing freelance for several established and respected publications such as BBC Radio Scotland, The List, The Skinny, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League, and The Wee Review. As of 2023, he is a member of the Critic’s Award for Theatre Scotland (CATS) and a member of the UK Film Critics.
