u/Either-Control-3941

Michael Ball will play Willy Wonka in a new production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory next summer.

Based on Roald Dahl’s novel and the Warner Bros film, the musical follows Charlie Bucket after he finds a golden ticket giving him access to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory – alongside Grandpa Joe and fellow ticket winners Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee.

It has a book by David Greig, music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman. The score also incorporates Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s songs “Pure Imagination”, “The Candy Man” and “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was last seen in the West End in 2017, having spent three years playing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in a production directed by Sam Mendes.

The production will originate at Curve in Leicester before transferring to the West End, with Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster directing. A national press night is scheduled for Sunday 20 June 2027. It will run at the London Coliseum from 4 June to 18 September 2027, with previews until 12 June.

The production will have choreography by Ebony Molina, set design by Leslie Travers, costume design by Katrina Lindsey, lighting design by Ben Cracknell, sound design by Adam Fisher and video design by George Reeve. Campbell Young Associates will provide wigs, hair and make-up design, with illusion design by Chris Fisher, puppet design by Rachael Canning and prop supervision by Marcus Hall Props.

Stephen Brooker is musical supervisor, with orchestration adaptations by George Dyer and musical direction by Isaac McCullough. Casting is by Olivia Laydon for Jill Green Casting, while Jordan Isaac is associate director, Ollie Durrant is associate sound designer and Dale White is associate choreographer. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is produced by ROYO, Fiery Angel, Gavin Kalin Productions and Curve.

Michael Ball will perform as Willy Wonka at the London Coliseum only (with Curve casting already confirmed). An alternate for the role will be announced at a later date.

Tickets start at £20, and go on sale on Tuesday 29 September.

Well here we are! Well here we are! Get ready for the show! Well here we are! Well here we are! Some friends that you all know!

We'd like you to clap and sing, And dance along too! Well let’s get ready to have some fun, ‘Cause our friends will dance with you!

Here comes Henry, Here comes Henry, Dancing with a twirl! Here comes Henry, Here comes Henry, From his underwater world!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Dorothy, Here comes Dorothy, Munching on a rose! Here comes Dorothy, Here comes Dorothy, Dancing everywhere she goes!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes the Captain, Here comes the Captain, Tickling everyone! Here comes the Captain, Here comes the Captain, The fun has just begun!

“Ahoy there me hearties! Hoo hoo! It’s lovely to be here! Whoa ho!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Wagsy, Here comes Wagsy, Running around the park! Here comes Wagsy, Here comes Wagsy, Listen to him bark!

"Ruff, ruff-ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, Ruff, ruff-ruff, aroooo!" Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Shirley Shawn, Here comes Shirley Shawn, Our scrumptious wiggly friend! Here comes Shirley Shawn, Here comes Shirley Shawn, Watch those elbows bend!

"Scrumptious!" Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Wisdom, Here comes Wisdom, The shakin', leafy tree! Here comes Wisdom, Here comes Wisdom, Dancing happily!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Buddy, Here comes Buddy, Yes, Buddy is our mate! Here comes Buddy, Here comes Buddy, Looking oh so great!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now let's all get ready to dance, ‘Cause everybody’s here!

"Come on everybody, have a dance... with Dorothy, Wags, Captain, Henry... Shirley Shawn, Buddy and the Tree of Wisdom!"

"This is fun!"

"And now, everybody clap your hands... And dance!"

It’s the Wiggles, It’s the Wiggles, Dancing with their friends! It’s the Wiggles, It’s the Wiggles, The fun will never end!

We’d like you to clap and sing, And dance along too! Now that everybody’s here, That’ll be so easy, That’ll be so easy, That’ll be so easy to do!

Seeing that the cast page on the official tour website has been left untouched since June, I think we could be seeing quite a few cast members from the previous tour returning, although I could be wrong. Also, Playbill has released this casting call for future replacements in the touring company with only leads one to think the tour will continue to run past the 2026/27 touring season. My only general assumption is the next cast is going to be announced within the coming week or two. But what do you guys think?

Well here we are! Well here we are! Get ready for the show! Well here we are! Well here we are! Some friends that you all know!

We'd like you to clap and sing, And dance along too! Well let’s get ready to have some fun, ‘Cause our friends will dance with you!

Here comes Henry, Here comes Henry, Dancing with a twirl! Here comes Henry, Here comes Henry, From his underwater world!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Dorothy, Here comes Dorothy, Munching on a rose! Here comes Dorothy, Here comes Dorothy, Dancing everywhere she goes!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes the Captain, Here comes the Captain, Tickling everyone! Here comes the Captain, Here comes the Captain, The fun has just begun!

“Ahoy there me hearties! Hoo hoo! It’s lovely to be here! Whoa ho!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Wagsy, Here comes Wagsy, Running around the park! Here comes Wagsy, Here comes Wagsy, Listen to him bark!

"Ruff, ruff-ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, Ruff, ruff-ruff, aroooo!" Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Shirley Shawn, Here comes Shirley Shawn, Our scrumptious wiggly friend! Here comes Shirley Shawn, Here comes Shirley Shawn, Watch those elbows bend!

"Scrumptious!" Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Wisdom, Here comes Wisdom, The shakin', leafy tree! Here comes Wisdom, Here comes Wisdom, Dancing happily!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now here comes another friend, So let's all give a cheer!

Here comes Buddy, Here comes Buddy, Yes, Buddy is our mate! Here comes Buddy, Here comes Buddy, Looking oh so great!

“Hello, everybody! It’s lovely to be here!” Now let's all get ready to dance, ‘Cause everybody’s here!

"Come on everybody, have a dance... with Dorothy, Wags, Captain, Henry... Shirley Shawn, Buddy and the Tree of Wisdom!"

"This is fun!"

"And now, everybody clap your hands... And dance!"

It’s the Wiggles, It’s the Wiggles, Dancing with their friends! It’s the Wiggles, It’s the Wiggles, The fun will never end!

We’d like you to clap and sing, And dance along too! Now that everybody’s here, That’ll be so easy, That’ll be so easy, That’ll be so easy to do!