Dylan's Candy Bar to Curate Wonderful Concoctions for Broadway's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Famed chocolatier Willy Wonka, on behalf of producers Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions, announces that Dylan Lauren (via her candy empire Dylan's Candy Bar) will be the official curator of all promotional things digestible, edible and wonderfully tasty for the new Broadway musical Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The Candy Man's Oompa Loompas have been hard at work transforming the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre into a world of pure imagination, where Dylan's Candy Bar products will be the premier confectionery treats sold at the newly renovated Chocolate Bar, Candy Bar and Wonka Empori-Yum inside the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

"Innovative candy creator Dylan Lauren has created the world's largest confectionery emporium (other than my own, of course), and I can't think of a more splendiferous way to send audiences out of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre than with their very own edible piece of my Factory, concocted within the walls of Dylan's Candy Bar," Willy Wonka said in a statement.

"Since we announced that Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would be coming to the Great White (Chocolate) Way, it has been a top priority to establish a relationship with a VIC (Very Important Chocolatier) to extend the audience experience beyond what they see on stage at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre," said the Mr. Wonka. "Dylan Lauren exemplifies the creative spirit and brilliantly inventive mind of Willy Wonka, and after satisfying New York's sweet tooth for decades, she was the natural choice for our exclusive promotional candy partner."

"To be working alongside Willy Wonka and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a dream come true," said Dylan Lauren, Founder and CEO of Dylan's Candy Bar. "At its core, Willy Wonka stands for 'pure imagination'-it was this creativity and inspiration since childhood, which directly contributed to starting Dylan's Candy Bar. Now, we've come full circle!"

Broadway's Willy Wonka, Two-time Tony Award winner Christian Borle (Willy Wonka) leads a cast of 35 that includes Tony Award winner John Rubinstein as Grandpa Joe (Pippin), Emily Padgett as Mrs. Bucket (Side Show), Kathy Fitzgerald as Mrs. Gloop (9 to 5), F. Michael Haynie as Augustus Gloop (Wicked), Ben Crawford as Mr. Salt (Shrek), Emma Pfaeffle as Veruca Salt (Finding Neverland), Alan H. Green as Mr. Beauregarde (School of Rock), Trista Dollison as Violet Beauregarde (A Bronx Tale), Jackie Hoffman as Mrs. Teavee (On The Town), Michael Wartella as Mike Teavee (Tuck Everlasting) and introducing Jake Ryan Flynn, Ryan Foust and Ryan Sell making their Broadway debuts as Charlie Bucket, with Yesenia Ayala (Broadway Debut), Darius Barnes (Cinderella), Colin Bradbury (Come Fly Away), Jared Bradshaw (Jersey Boys), Ryan Breslin (Newsies), Kristy Cates (Finding Neverland), Madeleine Doherty (The Producers), Paloma Garcia-Lee (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812), Stephanie Gibson (Cinderella), Talya Groves (Motown), Cory Lingner (On The Town), Elliott Mattox (Broadway Debut), Monette McKay (Memphis), Kyle Taylor Parker (Kinky Boots), Paul Slade Smith (Finding Neverland), Katie Webber (Wicked), Stephen Carrasco (Fiddler on the Roof), Robin Masella (Cats), Kristin Piro (An American In Paris), Amy Quanbeck (Broadway Debut), Michael Williams (On The Town), and Mikey Winslow (On The Town).

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory begins performances Tuesday, March 28, 2017 and officially opens Sunday, April 23, 2017 at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre (205 West 46th Street).

Directed by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O'Brien, Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features music by Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award winner Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Grammy and Tony Award winners Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, a book by Artistic Director of Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum theatre David Greig and choreography by Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse. The production includes additional songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 1971 Warner Bros. motion picture.

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will feature scenic and costume design by five-time Tony Award nominee Mark Thompson, lighting design by four-time Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman, sound design by Andrew Keister, puppet and illusion design by Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Basil Twist, projection design by Jeff Sugg, special effects design by Jeremy Chernick, orchestrations by three- time Tony Award winner Doug Besterman and music direction and supervision by Nicholas Skilbeck. Casting is by Telsey + Company/Rachel Hoffman, CSA.

For more than 50 years, Roald Dahl's story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has captured imaginations around the world, and now for the first time Broadway audiences are invited to experience Willy Wonka's delightful and semi-dark chocolate world first-hand. Willy Wonka, world famous inventor of the Everlasting Gobstopper, has just made an astonishing announcement. His marvelous-and mysterious-factory is opening its gates...to a lucky few. That includes young Charlie Bucket, whose life definitely needs sweetening. He and four other golden ticket winners will embark on a mesmerizing, life- changing journey through Wonka's world of pure imagination. Get ready for chocolate waterfalls, exquisitely nutty squirrels and the great glass elevator, all to be revealed by Wonka's army of curious Oompa-Loompas.

The Broadway production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures (Mark Kaufman), Langley Park Productions (Kevin McCormick) and Neal Street Productions (Sam Mendes, Caro Newling).

The Olivier and Evening Standard Award-winning London production of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Sam Mendes and choreographed by Peter Darling, was one of the West End's most popular and successful stage musicals having broken house records at Theatre Royal Drury Lane where it was been seen by over 2.5 million people during its four year run. Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sits alongside Miss Saigon and 42nd Street in the top three longest-running productions of the last 50 years at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, one of London's largest theatres.

Dylan's Candy Bar was founded in 2001 by Dylan Lauren with a mission to awaken the creative spirit and inner child in everyone. Known for merging the worlds of art, fashion and pop culture with candy, Dylan's Candy Bar is the pioneer in changing the way we see candy today. As the largest state-of-the-art sweets emporium and candy lifestyle brand, Dylan's Candy Bar is not your average "candy store." The modern day candy land is home to over 7,000 candies from around the world, making it the most popular destination for the ultimate sugar rush experience.

Dylan's Candy Bar freestanding stores are currently located in New York City at 60th Street and in Union Square; Chicago; Los Angeles; Miami and East Hampton. In addition to luxury boutiques in premier hotels, international airports and leading department stores, Dylan's Candy Bar plans to continue expanding in major cosmopolitan cities in the U.S. and worldwide.

For more information about Dylan's Candy Bar, visit www.DylansCandyBar.com. Follow them on Facebook @DylansCandy and on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @DylansCandyBar.

Known to many as the "Candy Queen," Dylan Lauren is the founder and CEO of Dylan's Candy Bar, which launched in 2001. She is the face of the brand as well as the creative and strategic force behind her childhood dream of opening the world's largest candy store that merges fashion, art and pop culture with candy. Dylan is also the author of "Dylan's Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life." Her book shares candy- centric tips for entertaining, decorating and gift-giving for every occasion-along with her chic and

colorful, signature style. As the daughter of legendary fashion icon Ralph Lauren and author Ricky Lauren, Dylan was immersed at an early age in design, art and fashion. After graduating from Duke University with a major in Art History, she traveled the globe in search of the world's most exciting confectionery creations.

Roald Dahl was a spy, ace fighter-pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor. He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and many more brilliant stories. He remains the World's No.1 storyteller. Born in Cardiff of Norwegian descent, Roald Dahl (1916-1990) joined the RAF at the age of 23 and began writing, initially for adults, after being injured in a plane crash during WW2. Sitting in a hut at the bottom of his garden, surrounded by odd bits and pieces such as a suitcase (used as a footrest), his own hipbone (which he'd had replaced) and a heavy ball of metal foil (made from years' worth of chocolate wrappers), he went on to write some of the world's best-loved children's stories. His first children's story, James and the Giant Peach, published in 1961, was a hit and every subsequent book became a best-seller. Today, his stories are available in 58 languages and, by a conservative estimate, he has sold more than 250 million books. Many of these stories have also been adapted for stage and screen, including the 1971 film classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wes Anderson's acclaimed Fantastic Mr Fox, and the multi-award winning Matilda The Musical from the RSC with music by Tim Minchin. The latest Roald Dahl story to hit the big screen is Steven Spielberg's #1 box office blockbuster The BFG. Entitled Roald Dahl 100, 2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl. Celebrations continue around the world, with lots happening in cities across the US, delivering a calendar packed with gloriumptious treats and surprises for everyone. We believe in doing good things. That's why ten percent of all Roald Dahl income* goes to our charity partners. We have supported causes including: specialist children's nurses, grants for families in need, and educational outreach programmes. Find out more at roalddahl.com.