Review: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Broadway)

Hey readers! 

It's time for my review of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
I had seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in London's West End four times (and loved it), so I wasn't so sure whether I should see the Broadway production, as I had heard mixed opinions surrounding the show. However, there are only a limited amount of shows that play on Broadway on a Monday, so I decided to give the Broadway production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a try. Whilst, as predicted, it wasn't as good as when it was in the West End, it's still a great show and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The show has had many changes, however the storyline, which I consider to be a classic, is still the same: Willy Wonka, world famous inventor of the Everlasting Gobstopper, has just made an astonishing announcement. His marvelous—and mysterious—factory is opening its gates…to a lucky few. That includes young Charlie Bucket, whose life definitely needs sweetening. He and four other golden ticket winners will embark on a mesmerizing, life-changing journey through Wonka's world of pure imagination. Get ready for chocolate waterfalls, exquisitely nutty squirrels and the great glass elevator, all to be revealed by Wonka's army of curious Oompa-Loompas. I love the storyline of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I never tire of it. Despite this being my fifth time sitting through the story, it was as exciting and fresh as always. The book of the show (written dialogue and backbone of the show) had some very significant changes to it, to the point where some people say it has been completely re-written form the London production, but luckily I didn't feel that the book changes didn't affect the show too much. As long as it's the same old story, it'll always be good. Exactly half of the songs from the original London production have been kept in the show and whilst I was disappointed that some of my favourite songs have been removed, I still think the score is terrific. My favourite additions to the score were "When Willy Met Oompa" and "The View From Here". "When Willy Met Oompa" was so strange and wacky, but I adored it! It had me in stitches. "The View From Here" has taken the place of the song "Pure Imagination" and I'm quite happy with that change, as I think that "The View From Here" is a beautiful song and excellently performed. The removals I was unhappy with were "Almost Nearly Perfect", "The Amazing Tale of Mr. Willy Wonka" and "Simply Second Nature". The biggest loss out of those was "Simply Second Nature" as I really relate to that song and I usually find it to be a large highlight of the show. Christian Borle was the perfect choice for Willy Wonka and he truly does the role justice. Christian's Wonka is bonkers and I loved it! Performing as Charlie Bucket at the performance I visited was Jake Ryan Flynn, who was brilliant. I would even say that he was better than the majority of Charlie actors I have seen in the past. He is extremely talented and has a bright future ahead! Other cast members that stood out were John Rubinstein as Grandpa Joe, Emily Padgett as Mrs. Bucket, Ben Crawford as Mr. Salt, Michael Wartella as Mike Teavee, Emma Pfaeffle as Veruca Salt, Trista Dollison as Violet Beauregarde and F. Michael Haynie as Augustus Gloop. I've read online that there a large number of people that take issue with adults being in child roles, however I personally did not have an issue with this and was able to easily suspend disbelief. I assume this was because the adult actors that were playing the children were so good. The costume and lighting design were both great and definitely deserve a mention. Now for the main reason this production is not as good as it was when it was in London... the set design. When taking the show to Broadway, they had a fresh new start to try and make the show even better than it was in England, but the set design lets it down. In London, the sets are gigantic. They would probably be my choice for the best set design in any show I have ever seen. However, the Broadway sets were extremely downscaled, to the point where there was just no comparison. I understand the stage is much smaller, but more effort could have been put into it. My only other fault for this production of Charlie is that I wasn't a big fan of the ending. For the London production, the show had quite a nice ending, with Charlie bringing his family to the factory for the first time, followed by Willy Wonka appearing one last time, by himself, to say goodbye to his glorious factory. None of that happens here and the show ends a little abruptly. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed myself at this show!

The featured star of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is, drum roll please... CHRISTIAN BORLE!

I had seen Christian in Something Rotten as William Shakespeare three times, and all three times he was amazing. I remember being really excited for him to play Willy Wonka, as I knew it was a role he would be great at. He certainly was great; the casting directors made a very wise decision. He's a stunning actor, a stunning singer, has great comic timing and even looks the part!

Now for my final verdict of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I give Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is quite close to a four star, but I have chosen three stars on the grounds that the set design was a little weak. However, it's still a fabulous show and provides a lot of fun!

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer