Review: Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The New Musical

On September 29, Hubby and I went to see the new iteration of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is now a musical, at the historic Fox Theatre. Here are my thoughts:

The good…

I’m always curious to see how musicals are staged when they’re brought from the realm of the screen into a more limited medium. While I find the use of layered surround screens framing the stage to be overused, they’re effective here, especially during some of the initial scenes in the chocolate factory.

I was also really interested to see how they’d do the Oompa-Loompas. I won’t spoil it for you, but they came up with an ingenious solution, and the workers are both delightfully creepy and funny.

With one exception, the performances were great, both with regard to singing and physicality. I was especially impressed with the scene where they’re going through an invisible obstacle course.

The fun of Roald Dahl’s books is how dark they are, and the musical is no exception, especially where we get to the second part. Hubby and I both observed shocked gasps from the audience with some of the more gruesome ends to the bratty children. I thought they were very well done. I’m also guessing there were some interesting parent/child conversations after.

I also have to give a shout-out to Madeleine Doherty, who played Mrs. Teavee. She got to portray the most well-rounded of the female characters, and I found her to be both engaging and convincing.

The bad…

The first half d-r-a-g-g-e-d. We all know Charlie is going to get the golden ticket, so much of the happenings in the Bucket household felt unnecessary.

The book was originally published in 1964, and the musical attempted to keep elements of the book while cramming in modern aspects, perhaps to update the story? This didn’t work for me. I found it to be jarring to have Charlie spending a few cents on vegetables in one scene, only to be followed by Instagram references in the next. I also couldn’t help but wonder whether Mrs. Bucket has a martyr complex or if she’s too dumb to access social services for the four retirees who live in her house…and never leave the bed? Finally, I’m not sure how Willy Wonka is going to escape lawsuits or the attention of the Departments of Labor and Immigration after the high-profile deaths at his factory and the revelation that he’s using foreign labor.

I can hear my husband scolding, “Suspension of disbelief, Dear.” Fine. The current juxtaposition of elements makes it hard to do that. The story needs to either be updated completely or left in 1964. Or presented as a modern or post-apocalyptic fairy tale.

Speaking of which, I’m not sure how well the stereotypes that were accepted in 1964 play in 2019. For example, the first golden ticket winner we meet, Augustus Gloop, is fat and hungry all the time. Also, with the exception noted above, all of the female characters were one-dimensional.

The sticky…

The one exception to the singing performance was Henry Boshart as Charlie Bucket. His opening number wasn’t great, but his acting was good, and his voice warmed up as he went along, which is why he wasn’t listed in The Bad.

Bottom line…

I’d recommend seeing the play because it is fun and dark. I’d also be interested to know what others think about the awkward mashup of the 1964/2019 elements.