'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' musical comes to Manila

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Broadway musical, makes its Manila premiere at The Theatre at Solaire from 8 to 26 July 2026. Lavish and visually ambitious, the production is built on scale, detail, and theatrical excess.

The musical arrives in Manila following a sold-out run at Shanghai Culture Square in November 2025, bringing with it a fully realized stage version of Willy Wonka’s world — complete with chocolate rivers, nut-sorting squirrels, and large-scale theatrical illusions.

Based on Roald Dahl’s novel, the musical explores themes of imagination, invention, and consequence, translated into a large-scale theatrical production built for contemporary audiences.

THE PRODUCTION

At its core is Charlie Bucket, whose discovery of a golden ticket grants him entry into the famously secretive chocolate factory.

The production features expansive visuals, immersive staging, and well-known songs from the 1971 film adaptation, including “Pure Imagination,” “The Candy Man,” and “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket,” alongside original numbers by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the creative team behind “Hairspray” and “Mary Poppins Returns.”

The staging leans heavily into spectacle, incorporating special effects, hologauze 3D technology, and illusion design by Las Vegas-based illusion designer Tim Clothier, who joined the Broadway creative team to develop new visual elements specifically for the show.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” premiered on Broadway in 2017 and ran for more than 300 performances. It later toured North America until 2022 and was staged in London’s West End, where it received two Olivier Awards. The Manila engagement forms part of a global tour scheduled to run for two to three years across Asia, the Middle East, and India.

GMG Productions is rolling out a staggered ticketing schedule ahead of the public sale, beginning with a limited early waitlist for priority seating access. The waitlist is currently open on the GMG Productions website and will close on 14 January at 11:59 p.m. Philippine time. General public ticket sales will open on 17 January 2026 via TicketWorld.

Ahead of the public release, select cardholders of UnionBank of the Philippines will have access to an exclusive ticket presale from 12 to 15 January 2026, also facilitated through TicketWorld’s online platform.

Updates related to Manila ticketing, announcements, and show information are being released through GMG Productionsacross Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, while international tour updates are shared through the official @charlieglobaltour account on Instagram.