Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Broadway)
Closed 2h 30m
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Broadway)
75

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets

75%
(951 Ratings)
Positive
72%
Mixed
20%
Negative
8%
Members say
Entertaining, Funny, Delightful, Disappointing, Clever

About the Show

Two-time Tony winner Christian Borle stars as magical candy master Willy Wonka in the new Broadway musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's book. 

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Show-Score Member Reviews (951)

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65 Reviews | 8 Followers
100
Funny, Great acting, Entertaining, Enchanting, Must see

See it if You love everything Willy Wonka

Don't see it if You've never read the book or seen the movie

56 Reviews | 9 Followers
100
Delightful, Great acting, Great singing, Dont listen to the critics run to see this amazing show

See it if Love Talent on every level. It's a sin that this show didn't sweep the Tony niminations. Starting with Christian Borle who is FLAWLESS

Don't see it if Donald Trump or dead

257 Reviews | 26 Followers
97
Clever, Delightful, Entertaining, Funny

See it if You love Christian Borle; you like clever staging; you'll enjoy figuring out how those oompa loompas work

Don't see it if You need it to be exactly like the movie; you don't like adults portraying children

112 Reviews | 7 Followers
95
Clever, Entertaining, Great singing, Great staging, Refreshing

See it if You like great sets, top notch singing and a feel good, fun story. Perfect for adults as well as kids.

Don't see it if You want a by the letter adaption of the novel.

146 Reviews | 60 Followers
95
Clever, Entertaining, Imaginative, Great staging & costumes, Fun!

See it if you want to see an eccentric & inventive take on the willy wonka story.

Don't see it if you lack imagination and wit Read more

74 Reviews | 13 Followers
91
Entertaining, Great acting, Funny

See it if you are looking for a classic-style musical with high-tech innovations and quirky twists (and a great leading man performance)

Don't see it if you really hate the plot line from the Willy Wonka movies

55 Reviews | 23 Followers
91
Funny, Great staging, Entertaining, Clever

See it if You're a fan of Willy Wonka & the Choco. Factory/like family shows. It was clever & funny. Reminded me of the original not the 2005 version.

Don't see it if You hate it Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or don't like family shows

502 Reviews | 67 Followers
90
Delightful, Great singing, Masterful, Great staging, Must see

See it if you like an upbeat, lively show with great music, singing, dancing and cute effects. This show was fun from start to finish.

Don't see it if you don't like musicals or whimsical shows. Read more

Critic Reviews (52)

The New York Times
April 23rd, 2017

"This big but tentative show doesn’t burst with flavor of any kind, not during its exposition-crammed first act. Only in its second half does the show acquire a distinct taste and it isn’t confectionary...The idea of macabre punishment seems to have acted as a stimulant on the creative faculties of everyone involved as the show turns increasingly surreal...Most gratifying is the transformation of Borle...Willy switches into dissing diva mode with a skip in his step and a fork in his tongue."
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Time Out New York
April 23rd, 2017

"Joyless, shapeless and grating...a stale Necco wafer of a musical...O’Brien directs this dull, clunky adaptation of the book and movie with none of the wit of the former nor the dreamy wonder of the latter. Maybe kids will enjoy the gaudy design and veneer of sassy satire, but when you bite down, there’s only empty shell. Younger audiences can cheer, but adults are bound to conclude that 'Charlie' is like what happens with an Everlasting Gobstopper: lots of sucking."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
April 23rd, 2017

"A show like 'Charlie' ought to have been a treat...So why did the thing turn into a hideous, cheap-looking, melted Whitman’s sampler? The glib answer is: too many cooks...The longer answer begins with Dahl. On the page, 'Charlie' immediately reveals itself as a bad candidate for stage musicalization...I doubt this musical would have proved at all likable even if an apt style and thrilling visuals had been found for it. The story is too maudlin and, at the same time, too angry."
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New Yorker
April 25th, 2017

"The new production feels like the result of late-night script meetings and second-guessing. The artistic choices don’t seem wrong so much as exasperated...The effort to rejigger the story into something new has also opened a few plot holes...Despite its problems, the show is still watchable, in part because Dahl spun his modern fairy tale so nimbly. And it has some real bright spots. There are catchy songs interspersed with the wonderful Bricusse-Newley songs from the 1971 film."
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The Wall Street Journal
April 25th, 2017

“The new songs are fast-moving genre pieces that mostly go down without hiccups. O’Brien’s direction never lets the pace slacken, even if indigestion might result...If your tastes in candy and drama differ from mine, there is enough here at least to provide some amusement. And it is a legitimate treat to see how Wonka’s small-sized servants, the Oompa Loompas, make their appearance...The musical’s clotted and confused message left me longing for a steaming bowl of cabbage surprise."
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Deadline
April 23rd, 2017

"It’s goofy, loud and imaginative—superlatively so...It’s not as theatrically inventive as 'Matilda,' and it probably won’t share that show’s canny ability to appeal to adults as well as kids...The supporting cast does well by the Shaiman and Wittman numbers, which fill out the characters with considerable humor...The moments of pleasure for this adult viewer were decidedly scattershot...Grown-ups will serve their purpose as ticket buyers, and their tykes will get the sugar rush."
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New York Daily News
April 23rd, 2017

"The candy man can’t. 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' is a middle-of-the-road musical with a pale score, a flavorless book and a dearth of eye candy that could have at least made it a spectacle...Heading a large, game and polished cast, Christian Borle has panache as Wonka. He plays the chocolate maker as snarky, not all that sinister...But this Ooma Loompa Doom-Pa-Dee Do-Over still needs work."
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Variety
April 23rd, 2017

"The uncanny darkness of Dahl’s imagination has been lightened and brightened in helmer Jack O’Brien’s mechanized production...While visually droll, too many of the gimmicks distract from the story and encourage the cartoon treatment of characters as caricatures. Happily, the character of Charlie Bucket escapes this mishandling...Ryan Foust was the best thing in the show...As played by Borle, Willy Wonka's much too charming and lacks the aura of stranger-danger."
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