ROALD DAHL's most treasured tale is coming to the land where sweet dreams come true- Broadway- in a delicious new musical! 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. It's a world of pure imagination.
And who better to conjure up this confectionary wonder than three-time Tony Award-winning director JACK O'BRIEN, the Grammy and Tony-winning songwriters of Hairspray, MARC SHAIMAN and SCOTT WITTMAN, and internationally acclaimed playwright DAVID GRIEG. Audiences around the world have long adored the best-selling book and films, but none have experienced the magic of Wonka quite like this- until now.
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY The New Musical: It must be believed to be seen.
As for the character who looms over everything in this show - the reclusive chocolatier known as Willie Wonka - he's not as dopey as Gene Wilder or as creepy as Johnny Depp. But, as played by Christian Borle (wonderful in 'Something Rotten'), he's much too charming and lacks the aura of stranger-danger that Dahl took care to give him in his story. It's no secret that Warner Brothers has poured considerable cash into this lavish production. That could explain (but won't forgive) the overwhelming emphasis on visual effects, which look like the refined-sugar nightmares of naughty children who consumed a two-pound box of Godiva Chocolates.
In my nearly half century of Broadway theatergoing, I've never witnessed such a second-act reversal of fortune as what's going on now at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, where 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' opened Sunday. Only in retrospective can you see glimmers of hope in the musical's desultory first half. Just one song by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman hits the mark in this retelling of Roald Dahl's tale of four children who win golden tickets to Willy Wonka's long-shuttered chocolate factory.
| 2013 | West End |
West End Original Production West End |
| 2017 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2018 | US Tour |
First National Tour US Tour |
| 2021 | US Tour |
Non-Equity Tour US Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Puppet Design | Basil Twist |
| 2017 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Christian Borle |
Videos