The Most Surprising Thing About Charlie And The Chocolate Factory The Musical Wasn’t The Chocolate

If you grew up reading Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or watched Tim Burton's 2005 film of the same name (starring Johnny Depp in the iconic role of Willy Wonka), this is going to spark your interest. The classic children's tale has made its way into the world of Broadway musicals, and now, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical is playing at Singapore's Sands Theatre!

Hold on a minute, you say. Does that mean all the larger-than-life chocolate fixtures, outrageously spoiled children, bombastic factory inventions and oompa loompas are in town? Yes... and no.

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory follows Charlie Bucket, a kind and clever boy from a poor family who is in love with chocolate. When he and four other lucky children win Golden Tickets to tour Willy Wonka’s magical chocolate factory, he scores an adventure full of unexpected twists and fantastical creations—and maybe even a chance to change his life.

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For fans of comedy, this show is going to be an absolute ball. The plot is full of hilarious hijinks and surprising moments, even for those who think they know the story like the back of their hand. Charlie's grandparents are absolutely fantastic, crammed into one bed like Sesame Street muppets. News updates of the Golden Ticket winners are delivered in a unique fashion, via news broadcasts that are equal parts campy and endearing.

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Some of the audience start straight up howling in laughter every time one of the Golden Ticket children is introduced, and for good reason! They each come with their own silly theme songs and backstories, which is a major highlight of the show.

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The laughs don't stop after the children get into the factory either, because Willy Wonka is one goofy man. And this version of Wonka is a master of sarcasm, delivering the most cursed lines to little children with a deadpan look on his face. Also, what goes on in the chocolate factory stays in the factory because the book's darkly comical gags are taken to the extreme. There are a few moments where I found myself asking, "Are these children going to be okay?"

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Don't even get me started on the utterly absurd look of the Oompa Loompas, because thinking too hard about them just makes me want to continue laughing long after the show has ended.

Aside from the constant comedy, the show is a true spectacle, with loud costumes, colours and effects exploding from all sorts of places. But while I found myself greatly entertained, I do have gripes with the script, as certain scenes tend to go on for too long, with loads of exposition and characters sort of standing around waiting for things to happen.

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This crops up quite a bit during the second half of the show, and is not helped by the fact that the set pieces within the factory did not live up to my high expectations of a mindblowing, magical chocolate factory. In fact, many of the chocolate set pieces in the factory didn't look all that enticing or enormous, and the factory's various rooms looked quite lackluster. In one scene, Charlie and his grandfather scale a ladder while having a conversation. Except there was no actual ladder, and the actors were left pretending to 'climb' against a drab backdrop for a pretty long time. Not the most ideal scene to depict an awe-inspiring factory.

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The show also suffered in the music department—a pity as it is a musical after all. Most of the tracks were very forgettable, and we left remembering only the melody of 'Pure Imagination' and that one yodelling song. That being said, Oliver Wong did a fantastic job hitting all the right notes as Charlie Bucket, while Daniel Plimpton's Willy Wonka had a vocal delivery that sounded a little awkward in certain places.

All in all, viewers will find themselves transported to another world indeed, though you'll sometimes need to exert a little pure imagination to make it fantastic.

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is running from now till 14 June 2026. Book your tickets from $88 at marinabaysands.com, sistic.com, or klook.com.