Charlie And The Chocolate Factory at Pantages Theatre

From the mind of the greatest children’s storyteller comes a warmly welcomed musical to the Pantages Theatre stage. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, with a book by David Greig and music by Marc Shaiman, the weirdest and most wonderful of all morality tales is brought to life before your eyes – it’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory!! Get ready to experience the magic – choose your show from the list below and book your tickets today!

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Tickets:

“A testament to Mendes’s skill in masterminding a lavish bonanza of a musical without letting us forget that Dahl’s book is a morality play in which vice is punished and virtue gets its edible reward” – The Guardian

“An absolute riot of colour and ingenious staging, as Wonka leads us through a series of set pieces in the weird rooms of the chocolate factory where, one by one, the naughty children are disposed of” – Time Out

“A splendidly charismatic and disconcerting Willy Wonka, brilliantly combining jokes with a twitchy hint of the psycho, and the child performers are superb” – Telegraph

Since the original book by Roald Dahl was released in 1964, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory has captured the imagination of millions, leading to not just one, but two film adaptions, the first, directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, was released in 1971, and the second, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, hit cinemas in 2005. Both of these films were musicals – showing just how well the original story lent itself to this format. The very first musical theatre production kicked off in London in 2013, and was later reworked into a Broadway production that opened for a long run at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in 2017.

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory tells the story of Charlie Bucket, a good-hearted child of a poor family of 7, including his four grandparents and financially struggling parents, who has a love of chocolate, a luxury he is rarely able to afford. His luck suddenly changes when he finds a Golden Ticket – a limited series of tickets hidden in chocolate bars that granted the owner a tour around the famous Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory, run by the highly eccentric genius Willy Wonka. Only five children are granted access, but not all of them are as kind-hearted as Charlie, and as the story progresses, each nasty child gives in to their own personal demon and is dispatched from the group – as it turns out there’s more behind their being called to the factory than a simple tour.

The stage musical pays homage to the original 1964 film, featuring favorite songs including “Pure Imagination,” “The Candy Man,” and “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” in addition to all-new songs by the composer who brought you “Hairspray,” guaranteeing a musical experience that will remain stuck in your head for days!

All of this is accompanied by brilliant and innovative staging, set design, and puppetry, re-creating the iconic scenes and characters we’re all so familiar with – from Charlie’s impoverished home and the cold streets of his cometown to Wonka’s factory itself, complete with chocolate river and candy boat, the underground tunnels, each of the separate rooms with their unique functions, the oompa loompas, and Willy Wonka’s Great Glass elevator. Special effects and costumes suck Augustus Gloop up a tube, transform Violet into a blueberry, and warp Mike Teavee into another dimension.

With all this going on, it could be easy to lose plot and character, but there’s no risk of that here. Featuring a phenomenal cast, each of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’s five child actors perfectly embodies their own distinctly spoiled and brattish character with aplomb, while Willy Wonka is a charming mix of affably flamboyant and darkly eccentric – it’s never quite clear either to the audience or to Charlie Bucket right until the end whether or not he’s truly trustworthy. As for Charlie himself, he’s genuinely likeable in his good-heartedness.

With a cast like this, the superlative scenery, prop design and special effects is the icing and cherry on top of an already delectable treat. Sink your teeth into a confection fit for all the family this year – get your tickets to see Charlie And The Chocolate Factory now!