John Stamos To Play Will Wonka in WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Live Concert with Weird Al and Finn Wolfhard
The classic 1971 Gene Wilder film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is being adapted into a live concert that will be coming to The Hollywood Bowl. The event is called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl: A Live-to-Film Celebration, and a few of the main cast members have been announced!
According to Variety, John Stamos will be taking on the role of Willy Wonka, Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, IT) will be playing Charlie Bucket, and Weird Al Yankovic will be playing the Oompa Loompas! Some of the other cast members include Elle King as Veruca Salt, Giancarlo Esposito as The Candy Man, Ingrid Michaelson as Mrs. Bucket, and Richard Kind as Grandpa Joe.
I absolutely love the cast and it seems like an event that fans of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory won't want to miss! Stamos had this to say in a statement:
"Willy Wonka is the first movie I ever saw. The film was released at a time when you could bring your own popcorn to the movie theater. I filled a whole grocery bag full of popcorn, but never touched it because I was so fascinated with what was going on behind Willy’s eyes. Gene Wilder as Willy was pure magic. Every time I watch the movie, and I’ve watched it more than several hundred times, I find something new. It becomes deeper, weirder, more charming and more of a mystery."
I feel the exact same way about the film. There's always something new to discover. This is one of the reasons why it's one of my favorite films of all time.
You can also expect to hear all of the classic musical numbers from the film that we've all enjoyed over the years. They'll all be performed live on stage. Oh! And I should probably mention that the show will be presented in Smell-O-Rama, which means attendees will be presented with exclusive Scratch-N-Sniff Golden Tickets. The concert will also include a few other things to spice it up including a costume contest and special projections on the surface of the Bowl created by acclaimed painter, designer, and illustrator Shag.
Concert director Richard Kraft went on to say:
“Like our concert celebration of ‘Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the Hollywood Bowl,’ we are mixing in film, live music, singers, dancers, effects and special guest artists to create an event that pays homage to the original movie but also delivers something that could only be experienced live. Our creative mantra for this show has been, ‘Anything you want to: Do it.'”
The Willy Wonda live concert will take place on November 3rd and 4th and the tickets go on sale September 23rd at 10am. Does this sound like an event that you'd want to attend!?