You wouldn’t guess that Mr. and Mrs. Bucket and their daughter Charlie had gone “from morning ‘til night with a horrible rumbling in their tummies.”

Two sets of grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, and Charlie, all squeezed into a tiny trailer, with only cabbage soup to eat. Although they are destitute, and Mr. Bucket has just lost his job at the toothpaste-cap-twisting factory, today is Charlie’s birthday and they’ve managed to get her a present: a Wonka’s Whipple-Scrumptious-Fudgemallow-Delight candy bar.

Cash McFarlane, 10, plays Charlie in her first ever “real” role for Tryon Little Theater/ Tryon Youth Center’s fun-filled Summer Youth Production, “Willy Wonka.”

“I’ve been in a school play before, but this is my first really big play,” she said. “I’ve seen ‘Willy Wonka’ so many times and just love it, so I decided to try out. It was a big shock when I got a lead part, but I’m having so much fun.”

Mrs. Bucket (Kate Riedy) is not new to the TLT Stage, and has appeared most recently as the sweet-voiced Connie Miller in the 1940s Radio Hour. A rising senior, she hopes to attend Converse College and get her degree in musical theater with a minor in opera. She loves the positive family message of the play and especially enjoys singing the tender song “Cheer up Charlie”.

Alix LeCroy plays Mr. Bucket, a loving father, dealing with the stress of providing for a large extended family. A recent graduate from Chapman High School, LeCroy will be off to USC Upstate in the fall. He recently performed with the TFAC fall tour of “Sleepy Hollow” and “Twelfth Night.”

“Willy Wonka,” based on Roald Dahl’s book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” plays at the Tryon Fine Arts Center, July 18 – 21. Tickets are available at the TLT Workshop box office, 516 S. Trade St. in Tryon, Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday 4 – 7 p.m. Call 828-859-2466 for ticket prices and more information, or visit www.tltinfo.org.

– article submitted by Monica Jones