Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The world of Willy Wonka is supposed to be beyond imagination, exceed expectation and delight at every turn; sadly this musical did none of these things. That is not to say that it is unwatchable but I was admittedly disappointed as I had expected much more. To be frank the brief performance the cast had put on at the Children in Need television broadcast was more spell-​binding than the actual show.
The novelty of having children on stage is usually that they look and sound adorable, unfortunately apart from «Charlie» himself, on the whole the children did not have such a charming effect, most probably due to their over-​the-​top accents, mature mannerisms and hard-​to-​understand mutterings. In contrast, I found Willy Wonka to be not as charismatic as I would’ve liked. The singing, choreography and costumes were all colourful but not quite extraordinary.
All-​in-​all this show was acceptable as a visual feat but missed the mark in terms of audio, lacked the element of surprise, and in my opinion, failed to impress.

I had high hopes for this show. I loved this story growing up — both the book and the film, and even though I’d heard the show wasn’t brilliant I still wanted to see it and still hoped it would surprise me. The first half absolutely dragged. It was painful. Especially the bit where they profiled each of the winners. The songs weren’t great and the best songs from the movie were taken out! Unbelievable! The second half was a little more interesting but I still feel some important scenes were left out (Charlie drinking the bubbles, hello!?) and I felt the ending was very rushed. I’m sure kids will love it, but me, not so much.

I have seen many musicals in the past, including Mary Poppins and Wicked in NYC, The Phantom of the Opera in Chicago, and The Lion King in St. Louis. This is now by far my favorite musical! One disclosure should be noted… my favorite Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie is the new one with Johnny Depp.
We came to London on a last minute trip and weren’t able to get great seats for Charlie. With that said, I was impressed with how low their ticket prices went. We were able to get seats for about 22 pounds (nosebleed section, but still loved it). I will agree with other reviewers (and my husband) that the musical does start off somewhat slow. However, once they announce the golden ticket winners, it really takes off!
There were several things I loved about this production. First, the props and set were AMAZING!!! I couldn’t believe the scene with Augustus Gloop, the glass elevator floating above the audience at the end, and the Mike TV part (just to name a few). Second, I loved the Oompa Loompas. Really cool how they pulled that off. Finally, the actors and actresses were fantastic, especially the children. I was so impressed with all of the golden ticket winners. Their voices and acting were incredible. I’d say the only disappointing thing might be that you won’t recognize the songs (minus the one at the end). However, with that said, i thought the musical production was great and I surprisingly enjoyed these unfamiliar songs.
Overall, one of my favorite things I did in London. I would definitely see it again.

The show was enjoyable, the special effects & stage props were really good well designed for the different parts my favourite was the class elevator,

I just visited London and saw charlie and the chocolate factory the musical. What a show the sets, costumes, music, and the brilliant cast was mind blowing. Everything about this show is truly amazing. My favorite character was Willy Wonka, who was played by Alex Jennings. Alex Jennings stole the show he was truly mind blowing and it’s so sad he’s leaving the show. Also charlie was amazing. All the child actors were beyond amazing. Also the adult cast was beyond amazing too. When this show comes to New York it is going to take off. It’s going to be a hard ticket to get. If you are thinking about seeing the show go go go. Truly amazing and mind blowing.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this musical. I had heard mixed reviews, and so while at one point I was really excited about seeing it, that excitement kind of died down a bit. But then Isabel asked me if I wanted to go, and so we bought some cheap tickets to give it a try.
They did some amazing stuff with the sets in this play. They were quite elaborate at times, and at other times really simple. Although even the simple sets used a lot of technology to make them seem a bit less simple as they were often projecting things onto a screen or a wall in order to visualize things that weren’t there.
I totally fell in love with Charlie as soon as he opened his mouth. I don’t know why they decided to give the role to a Scottish kid (whose entire family speaks with English accents), but he was so adorable and the way he kept saying «chocolate» and «Grandpa Joe» made me giggle immensely.
The choreography was pretty great as well. They managed to find a way to allow for bed-​ridden characters to dance around the stage, and the songs and dances the children did when they were interviewed on the television was fantastic. And the casting of the children was really good as well, with my favorite being Augustus Gloop (and his mother), but in reality they were all quite good. The oompa-​loopas were incredibly creatively done
For me, the only let-​down for the musical is the music itself. The only really memorable song for me was «Pure Imagination» and that was directly from the movie musical in the 70’s. That is the only song from that movie, so don’t expect this to be that musical. It’s not. If only there was music that I left singing, I think I’d be a happier fellow. Or if they just used MORE music from the original and added in some new songs, it may have been better.
That being said, it’s really a magical play, and you really feel the magic of a child in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory while watching it.

Sooo excited that, at last, they made a play for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is my absolute favourite children’s book. Read time and time again and is a very worn and love booked on my shelf.
TV Film versions have be… OK but, to sit in a theatre and take on the magic of this book I thought was going to be. well, magical. Launching be backwards to a child laying on my bed, reading the book and imagining true life versions as I read the book for the 100^th time.
Right from the beginning I was disappointed that they changed it. :(As the excitement drained from my during the, what seemed like a long first half of nothing much to set the scene, more an more changes came through. I had to start to tell myself that I am not here seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory just something based loosely on the concept.
As it progressed through, I found myself questioning my memories of the book. Did they have to generate their electricity by cycling? Did he play on a dump?
The thing I was impressed with was the oompa loompas. Great way of having them come to life. Very imaginative. But, spoiled by songs. Where were the original songs :(why oh why would you not keep these. My lip starts to quiver.
Maybe some things as a child should stay there. Lost in a brilliant book as a child now sat disappointed as an adult as the magic of bringing this great story to life slowly ebbed away…
I must now go dust off my book from the shelf and see if I can bring those magical memories back again.
This is why it has a low score from me. The acting, blah blah all good. But I don’t see why we had to have an interpretation of the story rather than just sticking to what it was.
boo.hooo…

A new version of the classic. Some of the modern effects are great but many of the changes are not (lots of songs missing, including the haunting oompa-​loompa warnings). Charlie was played by a Scottish boy making a bad attempt at a London accent. It was annoying and at times hard to understand. Starring roles for this production were Willy Wonka and the grandparents. Overall enjoyable but first half dragged on a bit.

A fun musical. The first half dragged on a bit, but the second half was filled with many very imaginative scenes. But I noticed at least one glaring omission: where was the classic Oompa Loompa Song — did I fall asleep for 3 minutes and miss it?
Also, as an American, it was bit hard at times to understand what was being said: both the accents were difficult at times, and the context was sometimes confusing since the British English vernacular is quite different.

Loved this musical. Visually stimulating, wonderful musical score, excellent cast! The sets were colorful and surpassed my expectations.
A timeless story masterfully told in stage. Made me smile inside.

I had sooo much fun watching this show!
I can understand why some of the previous reviews knocked stars off, I mean the songs may not be as catchy as some other west end productions… but I’m still going to give it 5 stars because my main thought as I left the theatre was «that was awesome, I need to take my niece and nephew!»
Why I loved it:
— The backgrounds were fantastic! I loooved the various sets, they were stunning and it is fun to guess what they’ll manage next. I really love the clever way they project things onto the set for extra 3D-​ness
— The costumes, especially the Oompa Loompas were just brilliant
— The Oompa Loompa dances — genius!
— Mr and Mrs Bucket’s gorgeous voices
— Charlie is soooo cute with his slight Yorkshire accent
Theatre-​wise:
— There was plenty of leg room
— They serve crème brûlée hagan das ice cream! Seriously — yum!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is really a feast for the eyes. The sets and costumes are utterly amazing and they have come up with some incredibly clever ways of staging the scenes from the book. I won’t spoil it by saying my favourite bits but I will say they mostly came in Act 2. However, I did love the visual aspect and energy of Act 1’s TV scenes.
The songs are musically appropriate for what’s going on in the show but I really struggled to understand what was being said in lots of the songs (especially the children’s songs). I caught a word here and there and got the gist but wished I had some subtitles to see what was being said. The main culprits were Mike and Violet who sort of rapped/​shouted their songs at breakneck speed. Augustus was fine and Veruca wasn’t singing such frenetic songs. Charlie, on the other hand, was really sweet and I could understand all his lyrics.
Augustus’ mum was very funny and is probably the most entertaining of the grown ups.
If you’re looking for a musical to take the kids to and you’ve already seen/can’t get tickets Matilda then consider Charlie — it’s a lot of fun and highly entertaining if not perfect.

Lots of good things about this show. In short, go see it if you have children. Or you liked Billy Elliott a lot. But if I had to pick my top London musicals at the moment, I’d still hands down pick Matila or Book of Mormon if you’re an adult or are really driven by the songs rather than the spectacle. If I were a person taken by the visual, I’d give this 4 or 5 stars.
I liked that the music was in a nostalgic, older-​style… more Sondheim than Larson, if you will. Orchestral sounds, non-​shouty singing, no crazy Wicked belting or power chords. Many of the set pieces (the giant TV) were really impressive. The actors were all spot on and the little boy playing Charlie was freakin’ adorable. I really appreciate how they stuck to Dahl’s story (unlike the 1971 film), and having the opening sequence and other illustrations by Quentin Blake was a great touch. All the ways they present the Oompa Loopas were super creative and clever.
But the music just didn’t stick with me in the way other musical scores do. When I saw Once (which has its own issues, but I did like the music), Book of Mormon, and Matila, I immediately wanted to go home and buy the recordings. Not so with Charlie, alas. In short, I am certainly glad I saw this production, I just think it would have been better appreciated by someone with different priorities to mine.

I’m really not normally a fan of musicals, which mean a four star rating is amazing for something like this! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I agreed to go.
Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate (who doesn’t) and I know all about little Charlie Bucket and his trip to the factory. What I was NOT expecting was the epic that unfolded in front of me in the theater. The set flying around me, the size of the sets and the quality of the acting was all amazing.
I’m hesitant to get too into it as I don’t want to be ‘that guy’, the one that posts spoilers all over the place. But I was lucky enough to go on a tour after I’d seen this show and had to ask ‘how much did this cost to put on’. I wasn’t given a direct answer (obviously) but was told that the amount of 10 million was widely reported. All I can say is, if 10 million was spent, it was worth every penny. The production value is ridiculously high.
I’ve never seen any theater performance like this before, but I hope every one in the future is just like it!
Recommended wholeheartedly. Do it. DO IT NOW!

I am a huge fan of the original story, both films and of musicals in general. I was nervous about going to see this show because I had read many a bad review online. I couldn’t quite believe they had got it that wrong so booked tickets for myself (a regular musical attendee), my brother (a musical actor himself) and my boyfriend (a newbee to musical theatre). We booked tickets at circa £40 a head and were supposed to be on the back row of the dress circle but we got moved forward to the fourth of fifth row and were also able to sit more centered when nobody turned up at those seats.
ACT 1 :
This is the act I had read most criticism about so my expectations were not very high. However, after the first few seconds, and even more so the first few minutes, I already knew I was going to enjoy the show. The boy was adorable, a clear and vulnerable voice just as I had hoped. The scenery was absolutely outstanding. The modern twist on the family is fun for all.
However, I unfortunately have to agree with one of the criticisms I had read most: there are too many lyrics in the songs, especially the kids’ songs. It is impossible to understand a couple of the songs, even when you are used to seeing musicals. You get the gist, of course, and catch a few words here and there, but all together it really is a shame because I feel you miss out on the characters and it is simply frustrating.
ACT 2 :
Willy Wonka is great although again his song is quite difficult to understand at times. It is definitely more understandable than the kids’ songs in Act 1 though, so you really do get to know Wonka quite quickly. The factory is great — as for the oumpa loompas ! Such a great costume design ! And the show stopper at the end of the show is absolutely wonderful.
I would definitely recommend this show, especially to people with kids. Maybe seats in the stalls would be more worth it, if you can understand the characters better? I will be going again and I encourage anyone in love with musicals and Charlie to give it a go — don’t let bad reviews put you off !

I’ve been a huge fan of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (both the book and the 1971 movie), so when this musical rolled out, I knew I had to go see it. Keep in mind that this is more based on the book, and not the 1971 movie since there are some notable differences.
Onto the musical! So this is more of a modern take on the book, and while the Bucket family is still portrayed as poor and humble, the other children’s personas were immensely exaggerated so yes, you truly get to loathe and hate the children in the end! I get what Sam Mendes was trying to do here, but I felt some of them were just a bit overdone /​unnecessary and borderline stupid. but maybe its just me. Abbie J really liked Mike TeeVee, but I absolutely hated him and wished they portrayed him a bit differently. But I did like Mrs. TeeVee and her alcoholic tendencies :) I was also half expecting dwarves on stage acting as Oompa Loompas, but they were all cleverly thought out costumes, although I really really wished they had orange faces and green hair.
One of the downfalls in the musical is that there were no memorable songs from the show, nothing that struck a chord in me! If anything, I was 100% certain that the original Oompa Loompa songs would be in there, but it wasn’t, which I think is a bit of a mistake.
The stage and props were impressive, especially the glass elevator, and how each of the children were introduced when they found their golden tickets. As they are moving from scene to scene, I found that there was a bit too much use of digital projection, for example, the moving elevator, or running into the different rooms. However, I still think that the stage production was brilliant.
Now where to sit! The seating layout at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, we paid £50 for seats in the Grand Circle, Row F, seats 13 – 19. I’m about 5’6″, and there were times when I had to stand up a few times to see what was going on down below. So with that in mind, I don’t think stall seats are necessary, just make sure that your seats are within the first 5 rows, or bring a telephone book to sit on! Actually I did see some people sitting on thick cushions, which I believe are probably available to rent.
If you’re a fan of the book and movie, I think this is a must see, although I would probably hope for some discounted /​cheaper seats.

I had been looking forward to seeing this show since I heard it was coming out. A new musical, backed with money from Warner Brothers, directed by Sam Mendes, and music and lyrics by the writing team behind Hairspray and Smash Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman — what could be better on paper?
Unfortunately, Charlie could be a lot better.
If you are keen and have been keen to see it, please don’t let me put you off but if you are not that bothered, I would wait until things get considerably cheaper.
I am assuming you are aware of the story of Charlie Bucket, a boy who lives with his mum and dad and four grandparents in a shack of a house, finds a golden ticket and wins a trip to visit Willy Wonka’s factory with 4 other children of varying annoying dispositions! If you haven’t read the classic story by Roald Dahl or even seen the original film with Gene Wilder (avoid Tim Burton/​Johnny Depp version) then please indulge, it is definitely a 5 star story! Those who are aware of these things will have a fondness for Willy Wonka himself and the joys that are encountered in his factory. Douglas Hodge does a very good job on his character, not as good as Gene but not as perverted as Johnny. He does have a little quirk to him but one thing that stands out, for him and for most of the characters in the show is that hardly anyone sings a full song, they spend most of the time using sprechgesang (speech singing) a la Rex Harrison and he only did that cos he couldn’t sing! There is a beautifully sung moment between Mr and Mrs Bucket in the first act which is sublime and really gives those actors good light, but otherwise we are just subjected to conversational singing which get is very annoying. In fact, I can’t really remember a single song from the show apart from Pure Imagination which was taken from the original film! Such a shame with such a great writing team. Nigel Planer who has played roles such as the wizard in Wicked, and Pop in We Will Rock You was good but suffered too from the non singing role!
Once we enter the factory we have more colour, more life, you can see where the money has gone with the chocolate river, the projections and the costumes, but the second act is heavily played out scene by scene with no real journey or transition. A child does something, they disappear, there is an oompa loompa song and we move on to the next scene. Speaking of Oompa Loompas, these are the people that deserve the 5 stars. There were amazing. Do not expect dwarves on stage, these are cleverly played out costume designs and puppetry to bring these small people to life and it is a marvel. Costumes that are for one person but look like and oompa on another oompa’s back, squirrels that are full size with oompas riding them and great singing and dancing. Whoever came up with this concept truly is a genius! But once they are done we return to the scenes and just follow along until the end.
The children were good in their isolated instances, my particular fave was Mike Teevee who was a gaming addict who breaks into techno when he sings/​speaks/​raps even — but even better was his mother — an amazing comic actress playing someone who wants to be the perfect housewife who has to deal with a crazy son and is slowly turning to drink to pass the time. Her comic timing was brilliant.
But overall, in the words of Ian P, it just felt that it was a high production pantomime. You are left with nothing at the end really except 2 ½ hours in a packed theatre full of children/​school groups who are impatiently watching a long live performance with their parents/​teachers who don’t want to be there and that atmosphere induces the concept that it is ok to talk and text throughout the performance; something which, for those that actually do want to see the show, have to put up with!
So please think carefully about whether you want to see the show. Personally there are better things out or even coming out, especially in smaller theatres that deserve your money more.
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