Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to open in Brisbane in March 2020

Paul Slade Smith as Willy Wonka and the Cast of Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryFollowing a hugely successful season in Sydney and the much-anticipated season at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne from August 2019, Roald Dahl’s spectacular Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is coming to Brisbane in March next year, playing at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC.

Sydney has embraced Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with both audience and critical acclaim, many performances selling out. Producers John Frost, Craig Donnell, Warner Bros Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions are thrilled to be bringing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Brisbane.

“Sydney audiences have fallen under the spell of this exciting musical production, and the show is selling fast in Melbourne as well. We’re sure Brisbane audiences will be enchanted with this glorious production,” they said. “The world fell in love with Roald Dahl’s bewitching tale when the book was released, then filmgoers adored the 1971 film with Gene Wilder.”

“Now this fabulous cast is enthralling audiences with the story once again on stage. We can’t wait to search Brisbane for four amazing boys to play Charlie Bucket and join our wonderful cast.”

“This is such a wonderful story for generations to share,” added John Frost. “Parents love sharing their favourite Willy Wonka film from their childhood with the whole family, and grandparents love taking their grandkids. We have an amazing cast to bring this story to life.”

Step inside a world of pure imagination. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the perfect recipe for a delectable treat: songs from the original film including Pure Imagination, The Candy Man and I’ve Got a Golden Ticket, alongside a toe-tapping and ear-tickling new score from the songwriters of Hairspray.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is perhaps Roald Dahl’s best-known story and has proved to be one of the most enduring children’s books of all time. The story of Charlie Bucket, the five Golden Tickets, the Oompa-Loompas and the amazing Willy Wonka has become firmly embedded in our culture since it was first published in 1964. Conservative estimates suggest the original book has sold over 20 million copies worldwide; it is now available in 61 languages.

Roald Dahl began working on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1961, but its origins can be traced all the way back to Dahl’s own childhood. In his autobiography, Boy, he tells us how, while at school in England, he and his fellow Repton students were engaged as ‘taste testers’ for a chocolate company – something that seems to have started him thinking about chocolate factories and inventing rooms long before Mr Wonka was on the scene. But when he came to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the story went through several drafts until the story as we now know it was released in 1964.

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory features direction by three-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien, 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, choreography by Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse, and includes additional songs by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley from the 1971 Warner Bros motion picture.

Scenic and costume design is by five-time Tony Award nominee Mark Thompson, lighting design by four-time Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman, sound design by Andrew Keister, projection design by Jeff Sugg, puppet and illusion design by Obie and Drama Desk Award winner Basil Twist, and music supervision by Nicholas Skilbeck.

Now it’s Brisbane’s chance to experience the wonders of Wonka like never before – get ready for the Oompa-Loompas, incredible inventions, the great glass elevator and more, more, more at this everlasting showstopper! Tickets for the Brisbane season go on sale in July, join the waitlist now to be first in line to purchase tickets at: www.charliethemusical.com.au

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory continues at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre until 21 July, before playing Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre from 9 August 2019. For more information and tickets, visit: www.charliethemusical.com.au for details.

Image: Paul Slade Smith as Willy Wonka and the Cast of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (supplied)