Original Willy Wonka Actors Join Parody Musical About That Disastrous Glasgow Exhibit

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Because memes never truly die, the disastrous Willy Wonka exhibit that spawned such viral images as the sad Oompa Loompa and ‘The Unknown’ now has a fully produced musical parody on the way titled Willy’s Candy Spectacular . Because that alone isn’t absurd enough, original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory actors Julie Dawn Cole and Paris Themmen have officially joined the cast.

Cole and Themmen, who respectively portrayed Veruca Salt and Mike Teavee in the 1971 classic, will serve as narrators in live stage readings of Willy’s Candy Spectacular , according to The Hollywood Reporter . The readings are set to go down at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with Cole leading the production from August 9th to August 18th and Themmen taking over from August 19th to August 26th.

Notably, Kirsty Paterson, the memed sad Oompa Loompa, is also set to appear. Other names involved include Shelly Regner ( Pitch Perfect series), Eric Petersen ( School of Rock The Musical , Shrek: The Musical ), Nicole Greenwood ( In Plain Sight ), Wilkie Ferguson ( Broadway’s Motown: The Musical ), Cassandra Parker ( Cabaret ), singer-songwriter Monica Evans, and Chris Villain ( Freakshow ).

The story of Willy’s Candy Spectacular is a satirical take on the fiasco of the Wonka -inspired “immersive experience” that made headlines back in February. What was promised as a magical, child-friendly event turned out to be little more than AI-generated imagery, a handful of cheap props, underpaid actors, and a bouncy castle.

The production is being helmed by Little Mermaid musical producer Richard Kraft. Kraft is also writing the book alongside Andy Fickman, while a host of songwriters (including Riki Lindhome, Daniel Mertzlufft, Doug Rockwell, and Tova Litvin, among others) are penning the tunes.

Willy’s Candy Spectacular has begun previewing some of its original songs ahead of the live reading. Listen to “The Best Show I’ve Ever Seen” below.

Original Willy Wonka Actors Join Parody Musical About That Disastrous Glasgow Exhibit
Jonah Krueger