About the Play

Charlie Bucket is a young boy who lives in poverty with his parents and his four grandparents. What Charlie loves more than anything in the entire world is chocolate made by the legendary Wonka factory. The owner, Willy Wonka, is incredibly secretive, and the doors to his factory have been closed to the public for many years.

One day, fantastic news is announced in the local paper—five golden tickets have been hidden in Wonka chocolate bars! The lucky children who find the tickets will be given an exclusive tour of the chocolate factory and a life-time supply of chocolate and candy.

Charlie opens his only birthday gift—a Wonka’s Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight—and tries to hide his disappointment when there is no Golden Ticket inside. A second candy bar, a secret gift from Grandpa Joe, has the same results. When Charlie finds a whole dollar bill in the gutter, he can’t help but stop at the candy shop. As he opens a second chocolate bar, a brilliant flash of gold is revealed under the wrapper—the fifth and final golden ticket!

Inside the factory, Charlie and his grandfather encounter marvelous things—chocolate waterfalls, Oompa-Loompas, Everlasting Gobstoppers, and more. Willy Wonka, a mischievous man wearing a top hat, delights in showing the children and their families around the wondrous place. But one by one, each of the selfish children disregards Mr. Wonka’s instructions and meets a very nasty end because of their greed and arrogance. Charlie Bucket is the last child remaining and he learns about the fantastic and marvelous future that now awaits him.