Stephens Auditorium's Willy Wonka musical features partnership with Ames Chocolaterie Stam
Ronna Faaborg
Willy Wonka is coming to Ames as the new musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” takes the stage at Stephens Auditorium.
Roald Dahl’s famous tale about Charlie Bucket’s golden ticket experience that allows him to tour Wonka’s whimsical, mysterious chocolate factory opens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Area residents have a chance for their own golden ticket opportunities as Stephens Auditorium is partnering with Ames’ own candy man, Terry Stark, who owns Chocolaterie Stam with his wife Anne.
They’ve teamed up to give away tickets to the show and “Stam Bar” bundles.
With two ways to enter the drawing, winners will receive four show tickets and a gift basket from the chocolate shop.
Enter by stopping by Chocolaterie Stam, 230 Main St., and signing up by Friday. The winner will be contacted by Monday.
Another way to enter is to find the post on the Stephens Auditorium Facebook page, which is dated Jan. 11 at 10:50 a.m. Share that post and tag a fellow chocolate lover in the post’s comments for a chance to win four tickets and a Stam Bar bundle. The winner will be announced Friday at 5 p.m.
Additionally, five golden Stam tickets will be randomly assigned to show tickets, and those winners will each receive a Stam Bar bundle.
“It’s a collaboration that’s been a lot of fun,” Stark said. “It’s a great show. We’ve seen it in New York ... People will really like it.”
"Audience members will “experience the wonders of Wonka like never before. Get ready for Oompa-Loompas, incredible inventions, the great glass elevator, and more, more, more at this everlasting showstopper,” a news release from Stephens Auditorium stated.
The musical will feature songs from the original film, including “Pure Imagination,” “The Candy Man” and “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” along with new scores from the songwriters of “Hairspray.”
Tickets range from $35 to $84 and are available at the Iowa State Center ticket office and online at ticketmaster.com.
Starks' chocolate business was practically a golden ticket experience
Stark said his foray into the chocolate business was almost as random as getting a golden ticket himself.
A longtime member of the Story County Sheriff’s department, Stark ran for the sheriff’s position twice and didn’t win.
“After the second time, I said I wasn’t going back to work in law enforcement,” he said. “I knew I wanted to own some sort of business, so Anne and I were looking for a franchise opportunity.”
After much reading, studying, talking with business mentors and getting counseling at Iowa State’s Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, Stark knew it needed to be something he was passionate about.
One day, Terry was at the Chocolaterie Stam in Des Moines, picking up some chocolate medallions for his family.
He looked around and saw some similarities with a concession stand.
“Anne and I have three kids and they were all involved in multiple sports, so we volunteered in a bunch of concession stands,” he said.
On a hunch, Stark asked to talk with the owner.
Ton Stam, the grandson of the company’s founder and the person who brought the Dutch company to America, was literally born above the European chocolate shop, Stark said.
Stark introduced himself and told Stam about what he’d like to do and about his interest in opening a shop in Ames.
“He looked at me and said they had been considering letting non-family get involved,” Stark said. “At that point, the company was 93 years old and was only family-owned.”
Stark wrote his name and number on a piece of paper for Stam, who immediately tore the paper in half, throwing away part of it and putting the other piece in his pocket.
“He held onto that hand-written note for 10 months,” Stark said. “Then he called up out of the blue and said they were ready to let non-family owners get involved – you’ll be the first.”
Three months later, the Starks opened their store on Ames’ Main Street. On Nov. 17, they celebrated the 15th anniversary of the chocolate shop.
The partnership with Stephens Auditorium is one of many the Ames Stam store has been involved with. The Starks often donate baskets of products to nonprofit events, such as the recent Charlie’s Angels cystic fibrosis fundraiser.
More:Chocolate, coffee, an epic novel — How an Ames phenomenon led to event with the author.
A collaboration with Dog-Eared Books in September featured a box of four Stam chocolates that were available during a Zoom event with Georgian author Nino Haratischvili, who wrote “The Eighth Life.” The author personally selected the chocolates by viewing them on Stam’s website.
“We enjoyed that collaboration a lot,” Stark said. “We really like the opportunity to partner with other local businesses.”