Jonathan Slinger on Finding His Range and Having a Ball in London's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

It's not every day that you have a West End musicals leading man who has also played Hamlet, Richards II and III, and Prospero in The Tempest, but the RSC veteran Jonathan Slinger comes to the starring role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane with only one musical credit behind him—the London premiere last year of Urinetown. Broadway.com caught up with the magpie talent to talk career changes, having fun and bringing a classically trained sensibility to the world of Roald Dahl.

Does it amaze you to to find yourself taking over the role of Willy Wonka?
Yes, I had done one musical, Urinetown, which was a fairly gentle sing and a gentle introduction into the world of musicals. I had two or three lines of my own to sing and was part of the ensemble for the rest so I could sort of get lost in the midst of the other voices.

Which isn’t possible here.
No, and when this first came to me, I thought, I’m sure there a lot of great actors who are better singers than I am. I’m not sure how seriously I took [the offer] at that point. Then I listened to the recording and thought, “They won’t cast me for this; the range is much higher than mine.”

It obviously worked out.
Well, this is me being naïve about musical theater because I had no idea that they could just transpose these songs down to anybody’s range. That’s how naïve I was. I turned up for a session with [musical supervisor] Nick Skilbeck saying, “It’s out of my range” and expecting him to say, “Well, that’s a shame and that will be that.” Instead he went, “We can transpose it. That will be fine”. So from that point on, it was like maybe I can do this.

How’s it going?
I’m still by far the least experienced singer in the company as I was in Urinetown, but I can hear the improvement in myself. Those moments where you catch yourself doing something you couldn’t have done a few years ago are always the most satisfying in a career—to have gone from singing a few lines in one show to four solos in another is sort of unimaginable.

Are you enjoying exploring the role?
Of course! The way the part is written, there’s plenty for me to explore. I am approaching the part with a classical sensibility. What’s great is that the piece stands up to that level of complexity and depth.

What is your take on Willy Wonka, who is such an enigmatic figure?
It’s almost as if he comes from another universe and he doesn’t know who he is on this earth as Willy Wonka and as if that time is coming to end so he has to find a successor or it will all crumble and die.

Is your extensive experience with Shakespeare useful at all?
There’s a certain musicality to Shakespeare, definitely. People who I think are effective with Shakespearean verse tend to use their range of pitch in quite a musical way so maybe the two things aren’t as far removed as people might think.

They seem to share a particular dimension to them.
Yes, there’s a certain size, a certain muscle, a certain energy, which is similar, and there is a similarity in terms of the stakes involved. On a show like this, the stakes for everybody are through-the-roof high.

At the same time, the responsibility on a show like this tends to be shared.
Yes, and after 10 years of big emotional heavy Shakespeare roles, it’s a bit of a relief to come in and be surrounded by people the way you are on this: there’s something very cathartic and therapeutic about singing as a group.

Might this lead to other musicals?
I’ve had conversations with people the whole time about certain musicals and I’m like, “I’ve never heard of that one!” I’m learning as I go. But I’m very open to doing more musicals after this. I love it. For one thing, there isn’t that sense of everyone thinking as you do with a classic play that we’re going to have to suffer a little for our art.

You get to actually have fun!
People come into work to enjoy themselves, which is a new and refreshing and lovely thing.