Fall Intergenerational Musical 
November 19- December 5, 2010
Auditions*: September 7-9, 2010 (Ages 7- up)
Music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley
Adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Tim McDonald
Based on the book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl’s timeless cautionary indictment of greed, the story of the world-famous candy man and his quest to find an heir comes to life in this musical stage adaptation of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.
One evening, the village paper’s headline states that Wonka is holding a contest, in which five Golden Tickets are hidden under the wrappers of his candy bars. The contest becomes a worldwide mania, with people resorting to increasingly desperate and unscrupulous measures, to find the tickets. The first four are found by four hard-to-like children: the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, spoiled Veruca Salt, gum-addicted Violet Beauregarde, and television-obsessed Mike Teavee. Our hero, Charlie, one cold night in the snow, magically, finds the 5th! This tale is a frothy, thoughtful blend of scary and fun for children and adults.
Hit songs include “Pure Imagination” and “The Candy Man” and featured, of course, are those mysterious factory workers known as… the Oompa Loompas!

A two week winter Musical Theatre Camp
January 16-28, 2010
Ages 9-12 Fee: $50
Spring Older Teen & Adult Musical
May 6-22, 2011
Auditions*: February 22-24, 2011 (Ages 16 & Up)
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine
Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
An ambivalent Cinderella? A blood-thirsty Little Red Riding Hood? A Prince Charming with a roving eye? A Witch…who raps? They’re all among the cockeyed characters in James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim’s fractured fairy tale. When a Baker and his Wife learn they’ve been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell, swindling, lying to and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk). Everyone’s wish is finally granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later, with disastrous results. What begins as a lively irreverent fantasy becomes a moving lesson about community responsibility and the stories we tell our children.
Summer Youth Theatre
July 22-August 7, 2011
Auditions*: May 24-26, 2011 (Ages 13 entering high school - 19)
Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg
Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and Alain Boublil
Adapted from the original French lyrics by Alain Boublil
Additional material by Richard Maltby Jr.
Orchestrations by William D. Brohn
Originally produced on the stage by Cameron Mackintosh
*This production licensed by Josef Weinberger Ltd. on behalf of Music Theatre International and Cameron Mackintosh Ltd.*
Miss Saigon brings Puccini’s Madame Butterfly to post-millennium America in a moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit. In the final chaos of the Vietnam War, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. This is an intimate story of love, war, loyalty, survival and a mother’s drive to give her child a future of promise. Raw and uncompromising, Miss Saigon is an intense experience of the losses suffered and the sacrifices made in a fearful world using violence to achieve peace. Songs include: “The Movie In My Mind,” “Sun & Moon” and “The Last Night of the World.”
*= Auditions for Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka & Miss Saigon will be held at
Near West Theatre’s performance location:
St. Patrick’s Club Building, 3606 Bridge Ave., 3rd Fl.** in Ohio City.
Audition location for Into the Woods is TBD.
* *= Currently, our 3rd floor location is not accessible to individuals in wheelchairs or those who have difficulty with stairs.