FORTUNE FALLS

Yes, there’s a chocolate factory, but Catalyst Theatre’s adult fairy-tale is a far cry from Willy Wonka

Sweet tooth

Alberta Theatre Projects is producing Fortune Falls, the latest creation from Edmonton’s Catalyst Theatre. It’s set in the titular fictional town, which is threatened with the loss of its flagship chocolate factory. Jonathan Christenson, who co-wrote the play with Beth Graham, notes that we live in a time of massive layoffs in the industrial sector, and that, often, when a company leaves town, “it goes beyond economics into how people have come to see themselves as individuals and as a community.”

De-based from a true story

The seed for the play came to Christenson from a news story he read about Smiths Falls, Ont., the former home of a Hershey’s factory. It was the town’s main employer and a tourist draw, and “when the plant moved its operations to Mexico, not only did it have a huge economic impact, it really left the community wondering who they were,” Christenson says. But he didn’t want it to be based completely on the town, so “I actually avoided spending a lot of time focused on the specifics of that community.”

Visit the Land of Chocolate

Instead, the play is set in more of a dreamscape, which is a common element of Catalyst’s works. “It’s meant to draw the audience into another world, more like a collective dream the audience is having,” says Christenson. “It has its own kind of logic.” The sound, the music—it’s a musical—and light design help transport the audience to another world.

Not a Wonka

Yes, there’s a chocolate factory, but this isn’t a Roald Dahl homage. “It’s really more of a coincidence,” says Christenson, who is aware people are going to think of Willy Wonka when they hear the premise. “We do acknowledge that fairly early on in the play. It doesn’t have a lot of parallels to that story, really, at all.”

New York credentials

Christenson and Catalyst spent three months off Broadway in 2015 with Nevermore, a dark fairy-tale about Edgar Allan Poe. Christenson said the experience reminded him how much talent there is back home. “While we have smaller communities here, we certainly have tremendous talent,” he says. “It was a huge affirmation to see how even in that market, the work that’s being done in this province can more than stand on its own.”