Musical parody of Willy Wonka experience to debut at Edinburgh Fringe
The original event in Glasgow was shut down after frustrated attendees called the police.
A musical parody of Willy’s Chocolate Experience in Glasgow is to debut at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The original event was shut down after frustrated attendees called the police, but gained viral notoriety after images of the sparsely decorated warehouse in Glasgow staffed by actors dressed as Oompa Loompas spread worldwide.
A musical mockery of the event titled Willy’s Candy Spectacular: A Musical Parody, created by US producer Richard Kraft, will have its world premiere at the Pleasance King Dome from August 9 to August 26.
He said: “The process of creating a brand-new musical, which usually spans years, is being condensed into just a couple of months.”
The first three tracks from the show have been released, including actor John Stamos performing the opening number Willy’s Candy Spectacular.
The song has been billed as a “post-apocalyptic opening number that traces the downfall of civilisation back to the disastrous event in Glasgow”.
Songwriters Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner said: “We love musicals with epic opening numbers.
“And we thought — what could be more epic than John Stamos singing about the end of humanity and linking our species’ demise to an underwhelming immersive experience in Scotland?”
Another song titled Dreamed To Dare features actor and yoga teacher Kirsty Paterson, who became a viral hit after pictures emerged of her as a sad Oompa Loompa at the “immersive” £35-a-ticket experience in Scotland.
The third song is called Where Dreams Go To Fly which captures “the unbridled optimism of the impresario behind Willy’s Candy Spectacular”, while additional songs are expected to be released every Sunday in the run-up to its world premiere in August.
The producers of the show have emphasised the musical is a “parody production” and there is no involvement from organisations that own the copyright to Roald Dahl’s book Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and its different adaptations.
It is also “not sponsored, endorsed by or affiliated” with House of Illuminati, the organisation behind the Glasgow event.
After the Willy Wonka event hit the headlines in February, it sparked viral memes and was even referred to in the House of Commons by Tory MP Penny Mordaunt.
