Greg Glover is Willy Wonka in Signal Mountain Playhouse musical

The Signal Mountain Playhouse board made an ambitious choice for the 46th annual summer musical – ambitious in its set requiring a fantasy-filled chocolate factory and ambitious in the fact that five of the six leads are children who have to sing, dance and act.

But when “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka” opens Friday night, audience members will see a production that is “Pure Imagination,” as Wonka sings. WRCB-TV Channel 3 anchor Greg Glover plays Wonka.

A cast of 70 adults and children tell the fantasy tale of five children who find golden tickets, winning the chance to tour Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. The factory includes a river of chocolate, lickable wallpaper and other sweet inventions, as well as workers known as Oompa-Loompas.

Each child is tempted into trouble during the tour, but only Charlie Buckett manages to redeem himself and earn a life-changing surprise.

“I love this story. It’s a classic a lot of people grew up reading,” says Dr. Jennifer Arbogast Wilson, director. “But this show doesn’t get done as much.”

Wilson says the musical is filled with familiar tunes such as “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” “The Oompa-Loompa Song,” “Pure Imagination” and, of course, “Candy Man.”

Wilson believes audiences will be impressed by the imagination that set designers have used to create the chocolate factory.

“One of the most ambitious aspects is for outdoor theater to create multiple locations within its confines. Our set designers were tasked with building a multipurpose set. So they built several platforms that go up to 6 feet in height to represent different rooms of the chocolate factory,” she describes.

“They have done this so many years that they know the limitations of this stage and their creativity is amazing.”

Anne Rittenberry, playhouse publicist, points out that several families have multiple members cast in this production.

“The actual parents of two of the golden ticket-winning kids are playing their parents in the show. Maggie Meller is playing the bratty Veruca Salt, and her dad, Steve Meller, is Mr. Salt. Molly Burnett is playing Violet Beauregarde and her mom, Shandra Burnett, who began in the Playhouse when she was 10, is Mrs. Beauregarde. The two girls have literally grown up in the Playhouse family,” says Rittenberry.

Zachary Huseman and his older brother, Noah, play two more of the five golden ticket winners. Their dad, Michael, is the musical director of the show. Husband-and-wife actors, Taylor and Maggie Williams, play the parents of Zachary Huseman’s character, Charlie Bucket.

“One of the great things about the Playhouse is that they want shows to be a family experience,” says Wilson. “We have approximately 40 kids in this show. I love that they bring such energy to the process.”

Rittenberry advises Playhouse patrons that no tickets will be sold in advance, just at the door, cash or check only. The box office will open at 6 p.m. to buy tickets and place lawn chairs; performances start at 8 p.m. Parking is at the Signal Mountain town complex.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.