CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Previews- Page 26

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 3:18pm

music man3 said: "remark said: "music man3 said: "...I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in London. The show was quite dreadful. The set was quite large in some scenes. It was beautiful at some points. It did have a lot of static elements and used projections heavily to make it appear that the set was more complex than it actually was. The set (in some scenes) was the ONLY saving grace of the London production..."

Maybe the show you remember isnt the show you saw. Its funny what time can to do memories. The set in London really was quite complex. If you have a degree in set design, then you should be able to appreciate that, moreso than joe public. The automation on the Junk yard and elements of the house, the 4 remote beds, flying in 16 actors on one piece of set, etc.

The projection in the london produciton was done to emphasise the set, for example steam from the pipes of the fudge mixing part, into which a real life child gets pumped through the tubes on stage. 

http://www.cardifftheatricalservices.co.uk/ckfinder/userfiles/images/charlie-main1.jpg

Dont forget this singular piece of scenery, carrying 16 actors flew in during a song. The technical complexities of this alone are wondrous!

 

"

Yes...the London rig that brought the Oooma Loompas down with the chocolate pipes was one of the points in the London show that was quite spectacular. (I stated that there were some amazing set moments in London!)

The grandparents beds that monopolized the London Act 1 stage & the giant wall of file cabinets that was covered with projections throughout Act 2 were less spectacular. The Act 2 "file cabinet" wall was static as elevators and multiple projections were used to cover the set changes behind the wall throughout Act 2. Comparing Broadway to that portion of the London set seems to be a bit unfair in my opinion! There is a more natural flow to the scenery on the Broadway stage.

Don't forget....the London designer is the Broadway designer! Perhaps he welcomed the opprotunity to revise and refine his design! I was able to find elements of the London design in every scene of the Broadway implementation! The elements were simply more....refined....

No foul....the London set was just different than the Broadway implementation!

 

"WOW you're really so invested in this show dude knowing it so intricately. Go tackle some other threads!

 

[Princeton2]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 3:20pm

songanddanceman2 said: "The London Choc river did indeed have a projection that made it look like it was flowing. 

 

"

 

interesting as it didnt when i saw it and when it first opened there was plenty of similar comments made on the whatsonstage forum. So either it was added later, didnt always work or just wasnt effective enough. i suspect the latter

 

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 5:10pm

Photos are up

http://www.broadway.com/shows/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory/photos/gallery/265/show-photos-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory/89695

[cb2addict2]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 5:15pm

are we sure this isn't just the first broadway revival of wonderland?

[SweetLips]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 5:18pm

Welcome music man 3 and I look forward to reading your well informed and intelligent thoughts on other shows---you bring a refreshing aspect from a design perspective and I admire how you maturely responded to the somewhat nasty replies to your original and further posts.

You will survive.

[Cfried]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 5:57pm

Thank you for sharing, music man 3! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this production! 

Updated On: 4/14/17 at 05:57 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 6:00pm

I miss the days when the shills were at least clever, and not so obvious about their work. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/14/17 at 6:50pm

IHeartNY2 said: "I guess everything seems overpriced and unworthy when it's a show you didn't 'get' (which is fine, you can't love everything...I'm one of the 3 people on the planet who thinks Hamilton is over-hyped). But as someone who dished out the $ to take my fam to see charlie and had a good time, I don't think this is any better or worse than anything else on Broadway. 

Well, that's just completely bonkers. Everything is better than one thing and worse than something else. 

[thebookofwhizzer]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 5:51pm

my friend has seen the show 2 times she has told me that nothing much has changed so far except a few technical things. bummer

[thebookofwhizzer]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 5:51pm

my friend has seen the show 2 times she has told me that nothing much has changed so far except a few technical things. bummer

[evic]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 6:02pm

The only thing that will change after the opening is that the show will probably be on TKTS and discount sites from what I have heard about the show..

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 6:25pm

Hey music man3, glad you joined the board as well. Always fun to have another set designer like myself in the mix to weigh in on the shows from your perspective.

Haven't seen the Bway production yet, but the London production of CHARLIE had us really mixed on all that endless scenery-- we actually loved the simpler Act I from a design standpoint as well as just good sweet entertainment, something which most folks apparently did not. The gobs of set in Act II were actually an eyesore for us-- too much damn stuff, and too much of it kind of hideous (with the exception of the awesome ways the Oompa Loompahs were integrated). And let's face it, we think Bob Crowley the designer of both productions is frankly one of the most brilliant minds working in theater today-- look at the recent AMERICAN IN PARIS designs for proof of that. 

Of course even brilliant minds can have an off day-- as seems evidenced by most responses to the sets at the Lunt Fontanne...

 

[ukpuppetboy]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 7:21pm

Bob Crowley, Mark Thompson. You say tomato...

[ukpuppetboy]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 7:21pm

Double post

Updated On: 4/15/17 at 07:21 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 7:35pm

Some people in this thread are talking as if the Broadway production of Charlie actually had a set.

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 4/15/17 at 8:42pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "Hey music man3, glad you joined the board as well. Always fun to have another set designer like myself in the mix to weigh in on the shows from your perspective.

Haven't seen the Bway production yet, but the London production of CHARLIE had us really mixed on all that endless scenery-- we actually loved the simpler Act I from a design standpoint as well as just good sweet entertainment, something which most folks apparently did not. The gobs of set in Act II were actually an eyesore for us-- too much damn stuff, and too much of it kind of hideous (with the exception of the awesome ways the Oompa Loompahs were integrated). And let's face it, we think Bob Crowley the designer of both productions is frankly one of the most brilliant minds working in theater today-- look at the recent AMERICAN IN PARIS designs for proof of that. 

Of course even brilliant minds can have an off day-- as seems evidenced by most responses to the sets at the Lunt Fontanne..."

 Mark Thompson designed both the London and Broadway sets.  No Bob Crowley in sight, alas.

 

 

 

[sparkledust]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 10:32am

I'm surprised that you go on on and on and on about Bob Crowley when he isn't remotely involved with Charlie.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 11:44am

Surprised about the praise for the American in Paris set. The only brilliant piece was the seaside set which was trademark Crowley. The ballet set which they praised as brilliant throughout the whole show was disappointing when it finally came out. Probably brilliant for the time it was set in for such a "modern" design but appears quite dated to today's audiences. 

The use of filing cabinets and elevator projections for Charlie London was a creative way of hiding the set change, unlike in many productions where they simply lower the curtain and have actors perform in front of it while the set changes. 

[BarnabyTucker]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 2:03pm

Caught the show last night and was delightful surprised and charmed by it. The material may not be the strongest, but the entire night was actor/performance driven, and they have a phenomenal cast. Christian Borle carries the weight of the show on his shoulders, and his Wonka is a welcome departure from Wilder's own brilliant portrayal.

Great choice having the bratty kids being played by adults. They were able to play up the comedy, and it made their demises even more delightful. Speaking of such, said demises are darker and more grotesque in this version, but the audience was eating it up and enjoying every morbid second. 

I also loved the set design, and loved the concept of the factory being a "world of pure imagination" where everything must be "believed to be seen." Having one main, vibrant set piece suggest each room really allowed for the imagination to run wild. Also loved the Oompa Loompa/puppet design.

Overall, it was a great night out. The families in the audience were eating it up, and they've put a fun/comedic twist on an already fun/comedic story.  

[ggersten]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 2:16pm

In Sunday's NYTimes puff piece is the following:

"The use of adult performers, the creative team says, allows not only for greater precision when singing complex lyrics, but also permits the show to embrace moments that are even darker than Dahl: Violet, after eating the not-yet-ready gum, not only swells up like a blueberry but also explodes, while Veruca, insistent on taking home one of Wonka’s squirrels, is torn apart by the rodents (in the book, they toss her down a garbage chute).

“When we were doing it in rehearsal, a lot of people said you can’t do that, and then the first audience saw it and they loved it,” said the choreographer, Joshua Bergasse. “We get away with it because it’s so ridiculous.”

Yes, Joshua, you keep telling yourself that.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 2:33pm

This design seems to be very much in Mark Thompson's style for musical theatre- it has quite the CAROUSEL aesthetic.  I was surprised by his London design.  This seems more to his taste; whether it suits this musical....

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/16/17 at 2:45pm

Oops my bad-- apologies to both Mark Thompson and Bob Crowley. Should've stopped and checked my West End playbill first. Regardless, my remarks on the West End set still stand.

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 4/17/17 at 1:00pm

Does anyone know if the show is frozen yet? How many days before opening are shows usually frozen?

[tmbyru]

Posted: 4/17/17 at 1:08pm

ggersten said: "In Sunday's NYTimes puff piece is the following:

"The use of adult performers, the creative team says, allows not only for greater precision when singing complex lyrics, but also permits the show to embrace moments that are even darker than Dahl: Violet, after eating the not-yet-ready gum, not only swells up like a blueberry but also explodes, while Veruca, insistent on taking home one of Wonka’s squirrels, is torn apart by the rodents (in the book, they toss her down a garbage chute).

“When we were doing it in rehearsal, a lot of people said you can’t do that, and then the first audience saw it and they loved it,” said the choreographer, Joshua Bergasse. “We get away with it because it’s so ridiculous.”

Yes, Joshua, you keep telling yourself that."

From what I have read on these boards, people actually had the opposite reaction of "love". People seem to hate it. What is Josh talking about? Are they in denial? And why did they take out the good songs from London? I haven't seen it yet (bought tickets for this week before reading the posts on here about how horrible it is) but saw it in London and loved the song "Juicy"... I hear that song is gone?

[BroadwayBeebe]

Posted: 4/17/17 at 9:40pm

Friend of a friend just posted about a "Scenic Emergency" and posted a picture of a new drop that he says is for Charlie. It looks like various vegetation with a mountain and the clouds in the background. I'm going tomorrow and I'm interested to see if it's in the show by tomorrow when I'm attending. I wonder if they have been taking other feedback and scrambling to add more pieces. 

Updated On: 4/17/17 at 09:40 PM