On November 3 and 4, the 1971 film version of Roald Dahl's classic novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be saluted with evenings entitled Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory In Concert at the Hollywood Bowl: A Live-to-Film Celebration.
The concerts, according to Variety, will feature the talents of stage and screen star John Stamos (Cabaret, Bye Bye Birdie) as Willy Wonka with Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) as Charlie Bucket, “Weird Al” Yankovic as the Oompa Loompas, Elle King as Veruca Salt, Giancarlo Esposito as The Candy Man, Ingrid Michaelson as Mrs. Bucket, and Richard Kind as Grandpa Joe. Richard Kraft will direct.
Attendees can expect to hear songs from the Oscar-nominated score, which was written by Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse, and Walter Scharf. The multi-instrumental band DeVotchka will be featured as well as a musical ensemble conducted by Jeff Hoeppner. DeVotcka’s Nick Urata is the music director.
“Willy Wonka is the first movie I ever saw,” said Stamos in a statement. “The film was released at a time when you could bring your own popcorn to the movie theater. I filled a whole grocery bag full of popcorn, but never touched it because I was so fascinated with what was going on behind Willy’s eyes. Gene Wilder as Willy was pure magic. Every time I watch the movie, and I’ve watched it more than several hundred times, I find something new. It becomes deeper, weirder, more charming and more of a mystery.”
The creative team also includes music supervisor Carter Armstrong, choreographer Mark “Swany” Swanhart, and casting directors Robert J. Ulrich, Carol Kritzer, and Alex Newman.
“Like our concert celebration of ‘Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the Hollywood Bowl,’ we are mixing in film, live music, singers, dancers, effects and special guest artists to create an event that pays homage to the original movie but also delivers something that could only be experienced live,” said concert director Kraft. “Our creative mantra for this show has been, ‘Anything you want to: Do it.'”Tickets will go on sale 10 AM September 23.
A musical version of the book, entitled Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, continues at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
