CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY National Tour — Page 2

Finally seeing the show tomorrow...this review doesn’t fill me with hope:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/pittsburgh/article/BWW-Review-CHARLIE-AND-THE-CHOCOLATE-FACTORY-a-Sour-Adaptation-20190131

The lack of window cards might be to your benefit. I usually wait until at least intermission to purchase window cards partially because I don’t want to bend them during the show and also because I want to be sure I enjoy the show enough to want to memorialize it with a place of promenance in my home. Having said that, I have bought window cards for shows that I was either underwhelmed by (Come From Away) or just liked (Skintight; Evita revival) and passed on windowcards for shows I absolutely adored (Angels in America; Hello, Dolly!; Hamilton).

Usually, this relates to whether I like the artwork and if it’ll look good in my home since my walls are full of artwork so available wall space is limited. Also, if I think I have a shot at getting the cast to sign it. I have to be picky because I usually have them custom framed and matted which can get pricey.

I bought the signed CFA windowcard as donation to Broadway Cares. It seemed like a bargain compared to what I paid for the same at DEH. I’ll eventually buy a window card for Hamilton when I eventually see it again on Broadway. Not sure where I’ll put it, but I always find a spot. Lol

If you really want a window card, you might checkout Triton Gallery online. I think you’ve bought from them before? I just started using them after my last trip and liked it except for their expensive shipping fees.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Hope you have an enjoyable time.

I'm still curious to see it when it comes to San Diego. I don't hate the cast album but I didn't really care for any of the new songs except for "The View From Here."

To quote Charlie Bucket, “The explosion you heard was my head!” I should have had some wine before the show. And from the 60’s, maybe a couple of hits of acid.

This was just freaking mind-numbing.

But it’s absolutely no where near as bad as what I was expecting, based on other people’s reviews.

As mentioned earlier, we had several understudies including the lead of Willy Wonka played by Clyde Voce. And I thought they all did a very good job, with Voce bringing his own special kind of sass and sarcasm.

Act 1, where all the Golden Tickets are “discovered”, wasn’t near as painful as some critics have put it up to be. I thought it went by rather quickly and was cute with the Live news reports from Jerry and Cherry. A lot of the scenes with the Grandpas and Grandmas were funny. The most difficult part of Act 1 was trying to understand what Mr. Salt was saying, his fake Russian accent way too thick and garbled.

In Act 2, when Wonka describes how he found the Oompa Loompa and the undersized video screen dropped down, it looked like something from grade school . But maybe that was intentional with its amateurish graphics. And when Mike Teavee gets shrunk and his mom grabs him out of the TV set, it was just plain freaky how tiny Mike kept moving like he was real. I thought that was really well done.

The audience seemed to really enjoy the show, with lots of spontaneous laughter, and at one point, stunned silence after Veruca was torn apart in “Veruca’s Nutcracker Sweet”. Those giant squirrels were freaking eerie, creepy, and sinister. But I think the biggest laugh of the show came when Wonka took a drink from Mrs. Teavee’s “lemonade” flask and belted out the chant heard at the beginning of Lion King’s “Circle of Life” - Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba!!! It was hilarious.

Overall the musical numbers were fine. Most are forgettable, but they were entertaining while watching the show. I did love “If Your Father Were Here”.

As for the production sets, they were indeed rather minimal (Charlie’s house, the Candy Store, inside the factory) but still, I didn’t think they were horrible. The extensive use of the “video screens” (or projection flats, whatever the three successive arches that framed the stage are called), was at times disappointing (and visually overwhelming), especially at the reveal of the “Pure Imagination” set where everything is made of candy and edible. This was a huge missed opportunity to really WOW the audience.

But, damn, when the Oompa Loompas first made their appearance, my brain just went numb. I’m still shaking my head on how wacko and bizarre it looked. You catch on after a while on how it’s done, but it’s no less screwy and brilliant.

The end of the show with the glass elevator ride could have been better. Too many spot lights, some of them from above hitting the stage around the “floating elevator” and destroying the illusion. They need to get a few tips from the Flying Carpet techs in Aladdin.

Overall I had an enjoyable time at the theater and I’m glad I got to see this.

Like I intimated at the beginning, go into this with a really, really open mind, just sit back, and let it happen. This show. Still smh. Just. Damn.

Here are some pictures from today...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57377062@N04/sets/72157704880374581

Updated On: 2/2/19 at 09:29 PM

dmwnc1959 said: "To quote Charlie Bucket, “The explosion you heard was my head!” I should have had some wine before the show. And from the 60’s, maybe a couple of hits of acid.

This was just freaking mind-numbing.

But it’s absolutely no where near as bad as what I was expecting, based on other people’s reviews.

As mentioned earlier, we had several understudies including the lead of Willy Wonka played by Clyde Voce. And I thought they all did a very good job, with Voce bringing his own special kind of sass and sarcasm.

Act 1, where all the Golden Tickets are “discovered”, wasn’t near as painful as some critics have put it up to be. I thought it went by rather quickly and was cute with the Live news reports from Jerry and Cherry. A lot of the scenes with the Grandpas and Grandmas were funny. The most difficult part of Act 1 was trying to understand what Mr. Salt was saying, his fake Russian accent way too thick and garbled.

In Act 2, when Wonka describes how he found the Oompa Loompa and the undersized video screen dropped down, it looked like something from grade school . But maybe that was intentional with its amateurish graphics. And when Mike Teavee gets shrunk and his mom grabs him out of the TV set, it was just plain freaky how tiny Mike kept moving like he was real. I thought that was really well done.

The audience seemed to really enjoy the show, with lots of spontaneous laughter, and at one point, stunned silence after Veruca was torn apart in “Veruca’s Nutcracker Sweet”. Those giant squirrels were freaking eerie, creepy, and sinister. But I think the biggest laugh of the show came when Wonka took a drink from Mrs. Teavee’s “lemonade” flask and belted out the chant heard at the beginning of Lion King’s “Circle of Life” - Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba!!! It was hilarious.

Overall the musical numbers were fine. Most are forgettable, but they were entertaining while watching the show. I did love “If Your Father Were Here”.

As for the production sets, they were indeed rather minimal (Charlie’s house, the Candy Store, inside the factory) but still, I didn’t think they were horrible. The extensive use of the “video screens” (or projection flats, whatever the three successive arches that framed the stage are called), was at times disappointing (and visually overwhelming), especially at the reveal of the “Pure Imagination” set where everything is made of candy and edible. This was a huge missed opportunity to really WOW the audience.

But, damn, when the Oompa Loompas first made their appearance, my brain just went numb. I’m still shaking my head on how wacko and bizarre it looked. You catch on after a while on how it’s done, but it’s no less screwy and brilliant.

The end of the show with the glass elevator ride could have been better. Too many spot lights, some of them from above hitting the stage around the “floating elevator” and destroying the illusion. They need to get a few tips from the Flying Carpet techs in Aladdin.

Overall I had an enjoyable time at the theater and I’m glad I got to see this.

Like I intimated at the beginning, go into this with areally, really open mind, just sit back, and let it happen. This show. Still smh. Just. Damn.

Here are some pictures from today...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/57377062@N04/sets/72157704880374581

"

Thanks so much for this review...and the photos are great. My group will attend early May when the tour hits San Francisco.

CATSNYrevival said: "They replaced "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?" That was one of the new songs I actually kind of liked. Mostly for Jackie Hoffman, but still. How is the new song? "That Little Man of Mine?""



I remember the scene more so than the song, with Mike strapped to a living room chair at the beginning and a video screen behind him showing pills (drugs) floating and swirling around. Once he’s awake and unstrapped, he’s all over the place. His mom sort of comes off as an alcoholic.

BwayLB said: "So would you recommend it after all for someone who equally enjoyed both movie versions?"



I’ve seen both movie versions and still enjoyed this show. It’s not perfect, and it is just really bizarre in parts, but it was entertaining. I don’t think I’d buy a cheap seat too far from the stage because I think you’d lose some aspects of the show better visualized from closer up. That’s not to say you have to be anywhere close to front row, but from the fifth row of the Benedum’s Director Circle balcony section I could see just fine.

So, yes, I would recommend going to see it if you can score a decent seat at a good price. After all, it is just another crazy day at the theater.

Anybody know if the tour has a set schedule of what CHARLIE goes on when

Saw this last night (Halloween). Not much to say that hasn’t already been said. Not great. Not necessarily even good. But after a few cocktails, it was fun. At first I was about the only one laughing at some of the jokes it seemed, but audience seemed to warm up to it.

Cody Garcia was good as Willy Wonka. It did feel like he was channeling Christian Borle. Coleman Simmons was a delightful Charlie. Rest of the cast did a good job as well. Nicole Hale was on as Mrs. Gloop. Melissa J. Hunt was on as Cherry and Bernie Baldassaro was Grandpa George. Special shout-out to Oklahoma native Collin O’Neill who is playing Jerry on the tour now.

The stage design was fine. From second row center orchestra, the trick with the Oompa Loompas wasn’t as impressive, but still fun. From a costuming/design standpoint, my favorite part was probably the squirrels.

Glad I went. Got me out of the house and it’s still extra exciting to enjoy live theater again after such a long “intermission.” Would I see it again as part of another tour season? Uncertain. Probably not.

The last time I checked, this performance still had more than 1100 seats available for this last performance of this stop.
More than likely a lot of that had to do with being a Halloween and Sunday night. From what I could see the orchestra was pretty much filled, but the dress circle, mezzanine and balcony looked pretty empty. But from my seat, it was hard to see too much beyond the front rows of each upper level.

Updated On: 11/3/21 at 07:42 PM