Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (musical) recently closed Broadway version (instead of the West End one) and will feature only 4 child actors who will alternate the role of Charlie. The remainder of the "child" characters will be played adult actors. On 13 October the primary cast was announced and includes U.S. actor Paul Slade Smith (who played Grandpa George in the original cast of Charlie on Broadway) as Willy Wonka alongside Australian actors Tony Sheldon as Grandpa Joe and Lucy Maunder as Mrs Bucket. The role of Charlie will be shared between Tommy Blair, Ryan Yates, Xion Jarvis and Oliver Alkhair.. The play opens with
The Willy Wonka Candy Company film version in exchange for the candy bar tie-in. Quaker, who had previous experience in the film industry, bought the rights to the book and financed the picture for the purpose of promoting their new "Wonka Bar". The name of Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" however was renamed to "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" for promotion purposes. The new brand was produced by Chicago-based company Breaker Confections (a subsidiary of Quaker Oats), which in 1975 was acquired by Sunmark Corporation of Saint Louis, Missouri. The original Wonka Bars never saw store shelves due to factory production problems prior