“I found this musical version oddly sweet and gooey, but David Greig’s book I found more Dull than Dahl. As a result, despite star Christian Borle’s game effort to inject charm into the characters of Willie Wonka and the ‘Candy Man,’ the long first act didn’t offer me much to cheer about…The second act improves noticeably for Mr. Borle comes into his own and the Oompa Loompas arrive.”
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"'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' wants very badly to be loved. It restores some elements that were in the original story, while updating it to the present and adding references to hip-hop and tweeting...There’s also animation, large squirrels, and lots of funny business in Act Two, when Borle lets loose with his wryly witty taunting antics. The show has a lot of hard sell, but some rewards, as it lampoons gluttony at Broadway prices."
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"A hot mess of a Broadway musical: loud, crass, and deeply confused about the point of its source material...When you compound Dahl's cynicism with garden variety vulgarity, the result is toxic...Borle plays Wonka with a kind of passive-aggressive detachment that is both off-putting and dull...Yet as much as this show veers all over the place, and as chintzy as Mark Thompson's sets sometimes appear, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' features its share arresting weirdness and wonder."
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“Neither relevant nor even consistently entertaining, but it does provide the occasional guilty-pleasure shot of sweetness...Unfortunately these are few and far between…This uneven kiddie show takes us on a roller-coaster ride with too many flat stretches…The old tunes remain sources of delight as do a handful of the newer ones. But David Greig’s book misses the strong narrative drive of the original and the cinema versions.”
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“Sadly, the show fails to keep faith with its source material, proving to be an uneven mixture of satire and wistfulness…The show’s creators aren’t sure whether to present a childhood fantasy or a dark allegory...The musical numbers written especially for the stage are not nearly as strong as the tunes used in the film…But Borle does an excellent job...‘Charlie’ reminds one of a rather misshapen cake. It may taste okay, but the proper overall effect is lost.”
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“The overall product will likely thrill many, but is mostly cotton candy without the substance or edgy humor of the book and original film…The weakest by far of all the adaptations…There are spectacular production numbers…Director Jack O’Brien and book writer still David Greig have not solved the main problem: The awkward first act…It is truly a shame the people behind the show simply did not come up with fresh ideas to make this a more memorable musical.”
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“Shaiman’s music is charming – full of tasty licks as usual...It is most unfortunate that muddy sound design often obscures those witty lyrics. Christian Borle portrays Wonka with his usual élan, with somewhat more humanity than previous incarnations. Director Jack O’Brien has presented a smaller-scale production than Sam Mendes on the West End, and while I’m not sure that was the right decision, it’s still sufficiently splashy and vivid. Recommended.”
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"The lugubrious, overstuffed, undernourished first act...The second act finally gets to the good stuff. Meaning Christian Borle...You know what bad behavior earns. Admonishment. But in author Dahl’s hands, that amounts to fanciful and picturesque dismemberment which is supposed to amuse us. Sorry, Dahl. That is sick...Everything depends on the ultimate chemistry between wistful, almost-real Charlie and outlandish, not-at-all-real Willy Wonka and it isn’t quite there."
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