Review: Christian Borle Grabs The Spotlight as Willy Wonka in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

With two supporting actor Tony Awards under his belt, the versatile and immensely talented Christian Borle finally spent an opening night as a Broadway leading man earlier this season, playing neurotic New Yorker Marvin in a limited run revival of William Finn's FALSETTOS. Now, with the New York premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory underway, Borle is placed into a position many stars have had to deal with at one time or another; carrying a sagging show upon his shoulders to create the illusion that everything is just swell.

Borle, of course, plays Willy Wonka, the mysterious and somewhat diabolical candy man who grabbed title billing when Gene Wilder portrayed him in the 1971 flick based on Roald Dahl's 1964 novel from which the musical gets its name.

With a book by David Greig, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman, this updated version of the story recently ended an over three-and-a-half year West End run. The Broadway version, however, is a new production, with Jack O'Brien stepping in to direct.

In London, the whimsical ballad "Pure Imagination" was the only Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley selection from the film to be used, but now "The Candy Man" and "The Oompa Loompa Song" have also been added. In addition, Shaiman and Wittman have revised their original score.

Borle opens the show with a stylish rendition of "The Candy Man" as his Wonka explains to the audience that "there comes a time, in every chocolatier's life when the chocolate he makes turns dark and bitter. That's when he knows it's time to lay down his spoon."

His plan to find a replacement to inherit his factory involves golden tickets inside the wrappers of five different chocolate bars that could be anywhere around the world. The five children who find the tickets (Is it assumed that adults don't eat chocolate bars?) are treated to a tour of the factory, along with their adult +1.

Young Charlie Bucket's family, consisting of his overworked mother and his four bedridden grandparents, is so poor that he only gets one chocolate bar a year, on his birthday. Three actors, who oddly enough all share the name Ryan (Jake Ryan Flynn, Ryan Foust and Ryan Sell) alternate in the title role, with Master Sell displaying a vigorous belt and appealing earnestness.

Emily Padgett plays Charlie's kind and sacrificing mother, a character who unceremoniously disappears after intermission as John Rubinstein's Grandpa Joe musters up enough energy to get out of bed and take over guardianship when Charlie finds the last of the golden tickets.

Was that a spoiler?

With so little plot to cover, the first act is bulked up with four big numbers in a row introducing the spoiled brats (each played by adults) who found the other four. There's Bavarian eating machine Agustus Gloop (F. Michael Haynie), demanding Russian ballerina Veruca Salt (hilarious Emma Pfaeffle), gum-chewing pop diva Violet Beauregarde (Trista Dollison) and Idaho technology whiz Mike Teavee (Michael Wartella), who fixes the contest by hacking into Wonka's computer.

These four contrasting types allow Shaiman and Wittman to inject a bit of lively spoofing into the proceedings, but while their score is polished and professional, it's trapped within a slow-moving book with a low percentage of jokes that land well.

Having the perpetually underutilized Broadway comic Jackie Hoffman cast as Teavee's mom certainly helps, as every five minutes or so she gets a line that's only funny because Jackie Hoffman knows how to make it funny.

Things pick up considerably as Act II opens with a number that really showcases the star. "Strike That, Reverse It" has the nonsensical sense of lyrical rebellion that smells of Groucho Marx showmanship, and Borle delivers it in grand style.

The musical's second half boils down to a predictable check list where each of the four meanies meets with a cruel demise as a result of their own greediness, leaving Charlie as the heir apparent. Another highlight of Act II is the introduction of the Oompa Loopas, a chorus of workers designed with Basil Twist's ingenious puppetry skills, who manage to maneuver to Joshua Bergasse's tap choreography.

Purple hues dominate Mark Thompson's minimalist set design that makes the chocolate factory look a bit more like a Bushwick art gallery, with his costumes offering greater splashes of color.

There's a good deal of talent involved in putting Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together, but, as is often the case, it all depends on the book. 90-100 minute musicals with no intermission are in fashion these days. Perhaps a bit of streamlining would make it a far tastier show.

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