Charlie and the Chocolate Factory begins previews tonight

The Broadway premiere of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical begins previews at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre tonight, ahead of an official opening on April 23.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical, directed by three-time Tony winner Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Tony nominee & Emmy winner Joshua Bergasse, features music by Grammy, Emmy & Tony winner Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Grammy & Tony winners Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, and a book by David Greig.

Synopsis: "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."

The cast of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical includes two-time Tony winner Christian Borle (Willy Wonka), Jake Ryan Flynn, Ryan Foust and Ryan Sell (alternating as Charlie Bucket), Tony winner John Rubinstein (Grandpa Joe), Emily Padgett (Mrs. Bucket), Kathy Fitzgerald (Mrs. Gloop), F. Michael Haynie (Augustus Gloop), Ben Crawford (Mr. Salt), Emma Pfaeffle (Veruca Salt), Alan H. Green (Mr. Beauregard), Trista Dollison (Violet Beauregard), Jackie Hoffman (Mrs. Teavee) and Michael Wartella (Mike Teavee).

The ensemble features Yesenia Ayala, Darius Barnes, Colin Bradbury, Jared Bradshaw, Ryan Breslin, Kristy Cates, Madeleine Doherty, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Stephanie Gibson, Talya Groves, Cory Lingner, Elliott Mattox, Monette McKay, Kyle Taylor Parker, Paul Slade Smith, Stephen Carrasco, Kristin Piro, Amy Quanbeck, Michael Williams, and Mikey Winslow.

The creative team behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical features orchestrations by Doug Besterman, scenic and costume design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Japhy Weideman and puppet design by Basil Twist.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical is produced on Broadway by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions.

Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical officially opened at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane on July 25, 2013, following previews from May 22, with mixed to positive reviews. It received a total of 7 Olivier Award nominations in 2014, including Best New Musical, picking up the awards for Best Costume Design and Best Lighting Design. The original cast starred Tony and Olivier winner Douglas Hodge in the iconic role of Willy Wonka. He was eventually replaced by Alex Jennings, followed by Jonathan Slinger. The London production played its final performance on January 7, 2017.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - The Musical is based on Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel and the 1971 film adaptation (entitled "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory") starring Gene Wilder. A 2005 re-make was also released under the direction of Tim Burton, which starred Johnny Depp.