Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (franchise) co-production with American Lyric Theater and Wexford Festival Opera. A musical based on the novel, titled "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" premiered at the West End's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in May 2013 and officially opened on 25 June. The show is directed by Sam Mendes, with new songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and stars Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka. The production broke records for weekly ticket sales. Coincidentally, Hodge was also the voice of a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory audiobook, as part of a package of Roald Dahl CDs read by celebrities. There are two "Charlie
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film) The purchase was finalized in 1998, with Dahl's widow, Felicity ("Liccy"), and daughter, Lucy, receiving total artistic control and final privilege on the choices of actors, directors and writers. The Dahl Estate's subsequent protection of the source material was the main reason that "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" had languished in development hell since the 1990s. Scott Frank was hired to write the screenplay in February 1999, after approaching Warner Bros. for the job. Frank, a recent Oscar-nominee for the R-rated crime film "Out of Sight", wanted to work on a film that his children could enjoy. As an enthusiastic