Tickets for the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory go on sale at 2pm today, and Michael Ball has marked the moment with a first recording of Pure Imagination.
Tickets for the new production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory go on sale at 2pm today, Tuesday 29 September. It is a limited run at the London Coliseum next summer, with Michael Ball as Willy Wonka.
The producers have released a first listen to go with it: a music video of Ball performing Pure Imagination, one of three songs the show takes from the 1971 Warner Bros. film. The other two are The Candy Man and I've Got a Golden Ticket, all three written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The video is below, and on YouTube.
Everything else in the score is new. Marc Shaiman wrote the music, Shaiman and Scott Wittman the lyrics, and David Greig the book, working from Roald Dahl's story and the film. Nikolai Foster directs, with choreography by Ebony Molina.
The production is built at Curve in Leicester, where it opens before London sees it, and is produced by ROYO, Fiery Angel, Gavin Kalin Productions and Curve. We reported Ball's casting at the start of the month, and our guide to the production covers the Leicester company, the full creative team and what is still to be announced.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opens at the London Coliseum on Friday 4 June 2027 and plays its final performance on Saturday 18 September 2027.
