CHILDREN’S THEATER REVIEW : ‘Chocolate Factory’ Assembles a Musical Treat : Orange County troupe casts 56 youngsters in an effective production about quirky candyman Willy Wonka.

WESTMINSTER — Willy Wonka, the batty candy magnate in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” may never give Drs. Spock or Brazleton much competition in the area of child guidance, but his methods are certainly more colorful. When the little darlin’s start acting up in his presence, he juices ‘em.

Directed by Larry Blake, the Orange County Children’s Theatre brings Wonka’s unconventional lessons on how to deal with the problem child to the stage at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center.

Based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 book (the film version, “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” came seven years later), the play follows the adventures of one Charlie Bucket, a penniless boy with a 24-karat heart, who is one of five lucky youngsters to win a behind-the-scenes tour of Wonka’s wonderland.

Accompanied by his grandfather, Charlie watches as one by one, the other four winners (each supremely obnoxious in his or her special way) discovers that greed, conceit and general pigheadedness not only don’t pay, but also can land you in some pretty uncomfortable spots. Like, say, the juicer.

Set almost entirely inside Wonka’s amazing factory, “Charlie” could easily get entangled in its own fantastic circumstances, especially in an amateur production. In short order, the greedy Augustus gets swept away by a chocolate river, gum-popping Violet turns into a blueberry and has to be rehabbed at the factory juicing machine and couch potato Mike Teavee is zapped into a zillion molecules.

Then there’s poor Veruca. While trying to heist one of Wonka’s miniature squirrels, she’s jumped by the little rodents and tossed into the incinerator, which, as Wonka notes complacently, may or may not be burning today.

Blake, who has directed for the Newport Theatre Arts Center and the La Habra Depot Theatre, wisely takes the simple route. Working with a cast of 56 local children aged 7 to 17--some company veterans, some novices--Blake sets the stage with an adequate measure of quirky, colorful visuals (the Oompa-Loompa costumes are a hoot), but often leaves what would have been the most technically difficult stunts to the viewer’s imagination.

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Unlike some OCCT productions, this show sticks largely to the original script, with one ill-advised addition. In an apparent attempt to give more children time on stage, Blake and choreographer Jennifer Moore have tacked on dances by the seven-member Chocolate River Dancers.

The youngsters are pleasant to watch and the moves are fairly challenging, but the sequences are out of place and impede the pacing.

Another twist: Vid-kid Mike Teavee no longer packs six-shooters and worships TV Westerns. He’s now a hard-core Trekkie, complete with fazers and Vulcan ears.

Also, at Friday’s show Blake inadvertently threw in a sight gag for sharp-sighted adults: Charlie’s dad, who has lost his job at the toothpaste factory and houses his seven-member family in a two-room shack and has had to scrimp for weeks to buy the kid a birthday chocolate bar, spends most of his time on stage reading the luxury real-estate section of the newspaper.

Although he tended to rush on opening night, 17-year-old Daryn Mack’s Wonka had an amiable spaciness and lent a pleasant singing voice to the dreamy tune, “Pure Imagination.” David Hall, a slender 15-year-old, had a nice “gee-whiz” quality as Charlie that wasn’t too sugary. Russ Ruffino and Andrea Hough, both 13, provided much of the laughs as Grandpa Joe and the monstrously spoiled Veruca Salt.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” based on the book by Roald Dahl. Presented by the Orange County Children’s Theatre. Directed by Larry Blake. Musical direction: Kathryn Bishop. Choreography: Jennifer Moore. Costumes: Gene Strelow. Sound: Bill Bingham. Lighting: Carlone Herman. Featuring Daryn Mack, David Hall, Mindi Metzger, Russ Ruffino, Michael Monroe, Andrea Hough, Rachel Rosales and Daniel Staggs. Continues Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Westminster Cultural Arts Center, 7571 Westminster Blvd., Westminster. $3 to $5. (714) 962-8344 or 968-4241.