He further tortures Charlie by forcing him to watch TV news reports about other kids from around the world finding the golden tickets Wonka has hidden in his chocolate bars (to grant admission to the factory tour), and taunting Charlie about not being able to afford one himself. After setting up a candy kiosk at the end of Charlie's street and masquerading as its proprietor, he repeatedly pretends to give him bars for free, yanking them away at the last second. Worse is that Wonka, who has always been gleeful and effusive if not tolerating of bad behavior, is now openly sadistic. (One stage direction in the script reads, so help me, "Oompa Loompa tap break!", exclamation point included.) The Oompa Loompas, who labor in Wonka's factory, are screechy puppet midgets (designed by Basil Twist) who may as well be auditioning for a community theatre A Chorus Line. The other winners of Wonka's lottery are vicious, one-dimensional avatars of mind- and behind-numbing chaos. The four bedridden grandparents with whom Charlie lives are insufferable cartoonsyes, the beloved Grandpa Joe, too, whose entire character derives from telling moronic, easily disprovable lies (most about events in the 19th century, for whatever reason). Charlie buys food for his family from a sneering lady with a grocery cart who delights in selling rotten produce. This show rebukes all of that potential, as well as stamping out the material's warmth and charm. Its whimsy and magic give way naturally to song (the first movie was a full-fledged musical, the second still had a few numbers), there's a rainbow of delightful characters, and a swath of colorful locales easily allow for dazzling spectacle and special effects. ![]() The Roald Dahl novel that provides it the germ of its story, about enigmatic chocolatier Willy Wonka and Charlie Bucket, the poor boy who wins a tour of his factory, has been a classic since its publication in 1964, and two subsequent film versions, in 1971 (starring Gene Wilder and retitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) and 2005 (starring Johnny Depp), have kept it near the forefront of three generations' consciousness. The bigger accomplishment, though, is that bookwriter David Greig, songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, choreographer Joshua Bergasse, and director Jack O'Brien managed this with what should have been a slam-dunk property. Although, to be fair, it does keep one-upping itselfthis is not a musical that's willing to settle for second-worst. It's just bad: plain, simple, and totally. (Pizza is also a famous one there are others, but this is a family review.) Its status may have to be reconsidered, however, in light of the new musicalization of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Lunt-Fontanne. Theatre: Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 205 West 46th Street between Broadway and 8th AvenueĬhocolate has traditionally fallen into the category of things that are pretty good even when they're bad. Michael Haynie, Emma Pfaeffle, Michael Wartella, with Emily Padgett and John Rubinstein, Yesenia Ayala, Darius Barnes, Colin Bradbury, Jared Bradshaw, Ryan Breslin, Stephen Carrasco, Kristy Cates, Madeleine Doherty, Palome Garcia-Lee, Stephanie Gibson, Talya Groves, Cory Lingner, Robin Masella, Elliott Mattox, Monette McKay, Kyle Taylor Parker, Kristin Piro, Amy Quanbeck, Paul Slade Smith, Katie Webber, Michael Williams, Mikey Winslow, and introducing Jake Ryan Flynn, Ryan Foust, Ryan Sell as Charlie. Green, Jackie Hoffman, Trista Dollison, F. Cast: Christian Borle, Ben Crawford, Kathy Fitzgerald, Alan H. Video and projection design by Jeff Sugg. Original Stage Production Directed by Sam Mendes and Choreographed by Peter Darling. Music direction and supervision by Nicholas Skilbeck. Scenic and costume design by Mark Thompson. Songs from the Motion Picture by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The New Musical Book by David Greig.
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