Watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on May 15, 2026. You'll Remember Why We Need It.
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
There's a reason we chose Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to open our 2026–2027 season.
We need it.
You need it. Your children need it. We all do.
Pour something warm. Cue up the 1971 film with Gene Wilder. Sit on the couch with your kids — or your grandchildren, or your spouse, or your dog, or just yourself.
And remember.
Remember When a Golden Ticket Was the Only Thing That Mattered
Remember Charlie Bucket. A boy with nothing but a loving family and a paper route, who unwraps a chocolate bar in a snowy alley and finds the impossible inside.
Remember Grandpa Joe — bedridden for twenty years — who throws back the covers and dances the moment Charlie comes home with that ticket.
Remember when Charlie, at the lowest moment of his short life, hands the Everlasting Gobstopper back to Mr. Wonka. Not because anyone is watching. Because it's right.
Remember "Pure Imagination."
Just the opening notes. That's all it takes. NOTE: Tickets and AUDITIONS coming soon!
This Is Why It's on Our Stage in September 2026
The world has been loud. It has been hard.
Our children have watched us be tired. They've watched us be afraid. They've watched screens light up with things no child should ever have to see.
They deserve a story where goodness wins.
A story where a poor boy beats the spoiled, the greedy, the gluttonous, and the entitled — not because he's clever, but because he's kind.
A story where a brilliant, broken man with the keys to a chocolate factory decides the heir isn't the one with the most money. It's the one with the biggest heart.
That is the story Roald Dahl wrote. That is the story Gene Wilder gave us in 1971.
And that is the story we are bringing to our stage September 11–20, 2026.
Your Homework Before the Curtain Rises
1. Watch the movie this weekend. Pick the 1971 Gene Wilder version. (The Tim Burton remake has its moments, but the original is the one that earns the tears.)
2. Watch it with someone you love. A child. A grandchild. A partner. A friend. Someone whose face you want to see light up.
3. Notice when you cry. Most people cry at Pure Imagination. Some at Grandpa Joe's dance. Some at the gobstopper moment, when a poor boy chooses honor over money.
Whatever moment lands for you — that is the moment we are bringing to life on our stage.
Then Come Dream With Us
When the lights dim at Richey Suncoast Theatre this September, the chocolate factory will open its doors again.
The Oompa Loompas will sing. The golden tickets will go to five very different children. And one of them — the poorest, the kindest, the most overlooked — will inherit everything.
We picked this show because we need it.
Because you need it.
Because our community needs to remember what pure imagination feels like.
🎟️ Watch the movie this May 15, 2026, Then come live it with us.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory September 11–20, 2026 Richey Suncoast Theatre
Season tickets and single-show passes — coming soon at richeysuncoasttheatre.com.
Toni Breitweiser is Marketing Director at Richey Suncoast Theatre, where she believes a community theatre should never settle for entertainment when it can deliver magic. Thank you, to Jess and Susie to present all america classics.
