VIDEO: Watch New Promo of CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY at Paramount Featuring Devon Hayakawa

Step behind the gates and discover the magic that awaits when Aurora's Paramount Theatre presents the Professional Regional Premiere of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, November 8, 2023-January 14, 2024. Opening Night is Friday, November 17 at 8 p.m.

Check out the promo video!

Follow young Charlie Bucket, his Grandpa Joe and four more Golden Ticket winners on a private tour of eccentric “Candy Man” Willy Wonka's magical and mysterious chocolate factory. Who will win the lifetime supply of chocolate? Experience their life-changing journey through a world of “Pure Imagination," revealed with Wonka's army of curious Oompa-Loompas.

Paramount’s principal cast for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory includes Stephen Schellhardt as Willy Wonka, Gene Weygandt as Grandpa Joe, David Blakeman as Augustus Gloop, Abby C. Smith as Mrs. Gloop, Devon Hayakawa as Veruca Salt, Jason Richards as Mr. Salt, August Forman as Mike Teavee, Heidi Kettenring as Mrs. Teavee, Tiffany T. Taylor as Violet Beauregarde, Lorenzo Rush Jr. as Mr. Beauregarde and Jaye Ladymore as Mrs. Bucket.

Ensemble members are Terrell Armstrong, Lexie Bailey, Brian Bandura, Matthew Bettencourt, Ben Broughton, Lydia Burke, Morgan DiFonzo, Evan C. Dolan, Nick Druzbanski, Alley Ellis, Jared David Michael Grant, Dakota Hughes, Michael Lunder, Jessica Minter, Sara Reinecke, Nellie Shuford, Allison Sill, Ayana Strutz and Matthew Weidenbener.

Trent Stork, Paramount's Artistic Producer and Casting Director, and winner, Jeff Award, Director-Musical-Large, for Paramount's Kinky Boots in 2022, and their design team are planning a high-energy, technicolor production performed on a dazzling set designed by Jeffrey D. Kmiec, with choreography by Kasey Alfonso, music direction by Kory Danielson and costumes by Ryan park. 

Stork’s production team also includes Jeffrey D. Kmiec, scenic designer; Greg Hofmann, lighting designer; Adam Rosenthal, sound designer; Paul Deziel, projection designer; Jesse Gaffney, prop designer; Ethan Deppe, electronic music designer; Max Fabian, fight and intimacy director; Susan Gosdick, dialect coach; Vertigo, flying effects; Amanda Raquel Martinez, assistant director; Maria Blanco, associate choreographer; Celia Villacres, associate music director and associate conductor; Jaci Entwisle, stage manager; and Amber R. Dettmers and Erin Nicole Eggers, assistant stage managers.

Before audiences even step into the theater and see the amazing set, Paramount's Grand Gallery will be fully decked out for the holidays, anchored by a two-story, Willy Wonka-themed Christmas tree, the perfect backdrop for pre-show holiday season selfies.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is your golden ticket for a scrumdiddlyumptious holiday outing for the whole family at Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora. Single tickets, $28-$79, are on sale now, or save with a Paramount Theatre Three-play Broadway Series subscription package.

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