Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - The Musical!

I'm actually glad this isn't another film-to-stage adaptation!

Although I'm sure some will miss the Bricusse/Newley songs (Candy Man, Pure Imagination, Oompa-Loompa, I Want It Now, I've Got a Golden Ticket, etc.)


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Updated On: 6/18/12 at 07:14 AM

I am very excited about this! I hope it does well enough to come to Broadway. I love the book and it would be a terrific musical if done well. (I admit I love the original Newley/Bricusse score as well.) But I think this has the potential to be really good.

I wonder if the cast will be all UK or mixed with US actors.

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Charlie and the Chocolate factory is one of my favorite movies of all time. I agree, I will miss the original score. Especially my 3 favorites, "Candy Man", "I Want It Now", and "Cheer Up Charlie".

There's a stage version with the Bricusse/Newley songs. Unfortunately, it also adds some new songs to bulk up the score that are pretty dreadful (Wonka's opening number rhymes "chocolate wiggles" with "chocolate giggles").

It's to bad they couln't combine the two, like they did with Poppins.

Something tells me that after this opens, the movie's songs will start creeping into the show a la "I'm A Believer" in SHREK (another musical idea that started with Mendes).

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I don't understand...if the songs from the movie won't be used, then why is Warner Bros involved?

Wonder if Martin Short is still attached.

While I prefer the original movie, Roald Dahl certainly did not. The end result was very different from his book. So, if they are doing a straight-from-book adaptation, it may be very far removed from the Gene Wilder gem.

Updated On: 6/18/12 at 01:41 PM

"Although I'm sure some will miss the Bricusse/Newley songs (Candy Man, Pure Imagination, Oompa-Loompa, I Want It Now, I've Got a Golden Ticket, etc.)"

So will I. I just hope they don't make exactly like that Tim Burton version. I did not like how the kids were portrayed and Depp was a miscast in my mind. I thought it also lacked heart and was too electronic.

"The article says "with new songs written by"- that could mean All New Score, or it could mean, Some Songs from the Movie and Some New Songs added, much the same as Mary Poppins."

That's what I was thinking too, especially with Warner Bros involved. But it could very well be the first option.

Though I, along with most everyone, am a huge enormous fan of the 1971 film adaptation, if you actually read the original 1964 book, you'll notice the film deviated and changed things quite a bit. Certain 'rooms' were not included in the film and even Veruca Salt's bit is altered from its version in the book.

Tim Burton chose to remain faithful to the original book therefore purists of the book were happy to see that Burton retained the dark tone of the book as well as kept the 'rooms' and their bit intact -- including Veruca Salt's section: the squirrels and the nuts: ALL from the original book. The songs used for Burton's film are taken verbatim from the book though Burton's composer Danny Elfman wrote original music for them.

Comparing both films is redundant as each one is an interpretation of the book. One deviated quite a bit from it (the 1971 WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) and the other followed the original book in detail (the 2005 CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY).