Theater Thursday - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

What: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:

Where: Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
             1501 Broadway
             New York, NY

Who: Tweens and Up
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Me - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was very different from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It was also very different than the Johnny Depp movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a lot darker than either of those. I didn't really like the changes. I did like some of the new songs, however. They also still had some of the songs from the movie which I like too. The acting was good. The singing was good. The dancing was good. The sets and costumes were very colorful. I love that there was a lot of purple because purple is one of my two favorite colors. I liked the first act of the show better than the second act. The second act was much darker than the first act. Even though little kids would probably want to see this show because of the movie, i is not really a good show for little kids. There are parts of the show that might scare them. Also, if you really love the movie, you will probably not like the show. However, adults and children who like scarier things might enjoy it.
 
  
Mom's view - If you are looking for a carbon copy of the beloved 1971 movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you will not find it in the Broadway show, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory currently running at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. This version is much darker; darker even than the 2005 Johnny Depp led remake. You will find some of old familiar songs in this version including Pure Imagination and The Candy Man although not all of those songs. For instance, the show does not include all the original Oompa Loompa songs. There are also a whole bunch of new songs. Some of them are fun and memorable. Others, like the new Oompa Loompa songs are not as good as the songs from the original movie. Christian Borle does a good job of playing the lead role of Willy Wonka although the character is written even less warm and fuzzy than in the movie, and he certainly wasn't warm and fuzzy in that version. The rest of the acting is mostly good. The role of Charlie is shared by three young boys. We saw Jake Ryan Flynn, and he was charming in the role. However, the fact that the other children's roles are played by adults only seems to add to the darkness of the show. I wouldn't recommend the show for very young children because some parts of the show might be too scary for them nor would I recommend it for anyone who is particularly sentimentally attached to the original film. However, if you want to see a somewhat different version of the story or if you thought the original was too sacchrine than you may enjoy it.
 
 
For more information or to purchase tickets visit www.charlieonbroadway.com.