Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie Bucket has been found and he has a Golden Ticket! Producers John Frost, Craig Donnell, Warner Bros Theatre Ventures, Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions today announced the five boys who will play the role of Charlie in the Melbourne season of the Helpmann Award nominated spectacular new musical Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Benjamin Belsey (10 years of age, from Point Cook), Elijah Slavinskis (10, Ashburton), Edgar Stirling (10, St Kilda), Lenny Thomas (12, Bonbeach) and Lachlan Young (13, Camberwell) will share the role of Charlie Bucket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie lives with his mother and his four grandparents in a little wooden house near a great town, and is the final child to find a Golden Ticket.

Willy Wonka, the most amazing, fantastic, extraordinary chocolate maker the world has ever seen, is played by Paul Slade Smith, who has been nominated as Best Actor in a Musical at this year’s Helpmann Awards. Slade Smith was part of the original Broadway cast of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, appearing as Grandpa George, then appeared in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady at Lincoln Center. Previously he performed in Finding Neverland on Broadway, and took over the roles of Charles Frohman and Captain Hook from Kelsey Grammer. He has also appeared in Wicked as Doctor Dillamond and The Phantom of the Opera.

Step inside a world of pure imagination. Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the perfect recipe for a delectable treat: songs from the original film including “Pure Imagination”, “The Candy Man” and “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket”, alongside a toe-tapping and ear-tickling new score from the songwriters of Hairspray.

"Solid gold." - Daily Telegraph
"A joyous musical, a magical show." - The AU Review
"A chocolate box of tricks and special effects." - Stage Whispers
"The Oompa Loompas are done brilliantly." - The Australian