Release:

This weekend only, Westporters are invited to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory at Greens Farms Elementary School. Behind the factory gates - optimism can be contagious. Courage to think outside the box can change the world and honesty and kindness will prevail! 

Over the challenging past two years, helping our youngest elementary school kids keep a positive mindset has been a top priority for the Westport School District and parents alike. 

Choosing Roald Dahl's “Willy Wonka Kids" as our Grade Five show this year at GFS was a natural choice for Co-Directors Suzanne Sherman Propp and Ellen Hardy.  The GFS Music Department decided to select an upbeat musical with nonsensical fun and imagination that promoted positive messages for the whole community. Our 5th-graders get the chance to explore themselves as performers, musicians, marketers, leaders or collaborative teammates on and off the stage while our volunteer team of parents has created a colorful wonderland for costumes, props and sets.

These GFS students can live in their imagination of candy-filled dreams, at least for a little while. "I'm excited to watch the kids perform songs that transport us to new possibilities, inventions, and a little mischief and fun. Some of the stress of the pandemic can be washed away now that the kids get to be together in person to interact and see each other's smiles," said Maureen Choe, a 5th-grader parent.  

Singing voices are warmed up, but most of all - a sense of community has been built through the process of making a play. All 5th graders who auditioned virtually during the height of Omicron in December 2021 got a part on stage while others committed to learning stagecraft and backstage management, all working since December for the three rehearsals every week.

In the midst of the latest headlines, parents of children in the cast have arranged for an easy way to donate to Ukrainian children and families in crisis through AFYA's HUMANITARIAN DISASTER RESPONSE HUB.. “While our kids have the opportunity to grow in peace and explore school activities, many others around the world do not," explains Pavleta Mitev-Landjeva, Willy Wonka Kids’ set designer and mother of Leanna Mitev (Willy Wonka). "As we gather this weekend to celebrate moments in everyday life, we have to remember that living in a peaceful world is a luxury."

GFS moms were inspired to collect on behalf of AFYA by Arianna Markel, a Research Assistant at Boston Children’s Hospital. Arianna has been spearheading collections of humanitarian and medical supplies going to Ukraine in her hometown of Westport, CT and the greater Boston area.

Click here for more information and to buy tickets for this weekend’s performance.