Karylle joins Manila production of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'
Multi-awarded singer, actress, and TV host Karylle is set to star as the selfless Mrs. Bucket in the Manila premiere of the Broadway hit musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this July.
With Karylle in the Bucket family are Oliver T. Wong and Cohen Toukatly alternating as Charlie, Steve McCoy as Grandpa Joe, Mychal Phillips as Grandma Josephine, and Michael Dalke as Grandpa George.
Karylle is a veteran of Philippine musical theater, making her stage debut as Princess Sapphire in Trumpets' The Little Mermaid. Since then, she has starred in several others, including Manila productions of Broadway hits. She has played Baroness Elsa von Schraeder in the Manila production of The Sound of Music, Maria in West Side Story, Cat in the Hat in Atlantis Productions' Seussical: The Musical, the lead in the new version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, and the lead role of Sita in the original Filipino rock opera ballet Rama, Hari, where she enriched her role with her ballet background.
She has received awards for all three aspects of her career: acting, singing, and TV hosting.
Based on British author Roald Dahl's fantasy children's book of the same title, the musical tells the story of Charlie Bucket, a little boy who lives with his family in a leaking cottage, too poor to make ends meet. Coming from a home full of kindness and generosity, Charlie dives into the chocolate factory run by neighborhood eccentric Willy Wonka. Inside, Charlie encounters the limits of Dahl's imagination, including nut-snorting squirrels, grumpy Oompa-Loompas, and a magical chocolate river.
Along with Karylle, there won't be a shortage of talent onstage for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Director Matt Lenz's over-30-year career on Broadway and off-Broadway has brought him on national and international tours of musical theater favorites.
Award-winning composer Marc Shaiman has several Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy nominations under his belt, including for Mary Poppins Returns, Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, Hairspray, When Harry Met Sally, Beaches, and Some Like It Hot.
Working with Shaiman, award-winning lyricist Scott Wittman has had Emmy nominations for his work on the NBC drama Smash, Tony nominations for Some Like It Hot, and co-wrote music for the award-winning series Only Murders in the Building, among many others.
Playwright David Greig counts among his many plays The Events, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hard, and Monster in the Hall.
Along with original music from Shaiman and Wittman, the Manila production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will feature iconic songs from the 1971 film, including Pure Imagination, The Candy Man, and I've Got A Golden Ticket.
The musical runs in Manila from July 8 to 26 at The Theater at Solaire. Book your tickets at Ticketworld.
