Willy Wonka Takes Over The Hollywood Bowl

Come with me and you’ll be in a world surrounded by a lot of heavy traffic and noise, except we’ve got this cool shell that makes us feel like we’re in a magical bubble. That’s kind of what it feels like at the Hollywood Bowl. Once you’re there, it’s worth it. And November 3 and 4 will be totally worth it.

On those nights, the Warner Brothers movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory will be recreated, revived, and remixed (like a chocolate river) on stage by an all-star cast. Though they’re calling it “Live-to-Film,” it’s hard to be sure what’s actually happening besides fun. It doesn’t seem to actually be the movie being projected with people singing. Instead, it’s some kind of full-on performance and the promoters call it what it should be: a celebration. It doesn’t matter; they had me at Weird Al. And then I found out that it has visual design by Shag.

Let’s also celebrate the late Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, who wrote these classic songs — and man, I can’t wait to hear Giancarlo Esposito bust out “Candy Man.”

From Click Communications:

Warner Bros. Pictures’ classic, “WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY™” starring Gene Wilder, will be brought to life this November for a special two-night cinematic event featuring John Stamos, Elle King, Finn Wolfhard, and “Weird Al” Yankovic alongside an all-star cast singing iconic songs throughout a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. Accompanied by multi-instrumental band DeVotchKa, and featuring spectacular animation created by acclaimed painter and illustrator SHAG, this magical show will leave an everlasting impression!

The singing cast includes John Stamos performing “Pure Imagination” as Willy Wonka, Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things,” IT) as Charlie, Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad,” “Once Upon a Time”) singing the role of The Candy Man, and Richard Kind (“Gotham,” Inside Out) as Grandpa Joe, with musicians Elle King (“Ex’s & Oh’s”) singing Veruca Salt’s “I Want It Now,” Ingrid Michaelson as Mrs. Bucket, and “Weird Al” Yankovic as the Oompa Loompas.

The experience will also be presented in SMELL-O-RAMA with guests receiving exclusive Scratch-N-Sniff Golden Tickets and will kick off with a costume contest hosted by original cast member Julie Dawn Cole, who memorably played Veruca Salt.

The show will also showcase special guest artists such as violin soloist Sandy Cameron; 16-year old pianist Emily Bear performing the Oscar®-winning Tom and Jerry short THE CAT CONCERTO live-to-film; and Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow singing the perfect party song finale, “I WANT CANDY.”

Doors will open at 6:30PM with costume contest to follow and the concert beginning at 8PM.

Tickets are available here.

https://youtu.be/rFA85owBpxE

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About Derek McCaw 2503 Articles
In addition to running Fanboy Planet, Derek has written for ActionAce, Daily Radar, Once Upon A Dime, and The Wave. He has contributed stories to Arcana Comics (The Greatest American Hero) and Monsterverse Comics (Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave). He has performed with ComedySportz and Silicon Valley Shakespeare, though relocated to Hollywood to... work in an office? If you ever played Eric's Ultimate Solitaire on the Macintosh, it was Derek's voice as The Weasel that urged you to play longer. You can buy his book "I Was Flesh Gordon" on the Amazon link at the right. Email him at [email protected].