Christian Borle to star in Broadway's 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'

NEW YORK, May 9 (UPI) -- Two-time Tony Award-winner Christian Borle will star as Willy Wonka in the new Broadway musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, producers announced Monday.

The show -- based on Roald Dahl's classic fantasy book -- is scheduled to open in March 2017.

Borle, 42, is famous for his work in the stage productions of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Monty Python's Spamalot, Legally Blonde, Peter and the Starcatcher and Something Rotten!, as well as on the TV show Smash.

Dahl's novel has been adapted twice for the big screen -- as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder in 1971 and as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory headlined by Johnny Depp in 2005.

The New York stage show is to be directed by three-time Tony Award-winner Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Emmy Award-winner Joshua Bergasse. It will feature music by Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winner Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Grammy- and Tony Award-winners Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, and a book by David Greig, artistic director of Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum theater.

A Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical has been playing in London since 2013. It's directed by Sam Mendes, with choreography by Peter Darling.

Two-time Tony Award winner Christian Borle will create the role of Willy Wonka on #Broadway in March 2017! pic.twitter.com/hbaW7JxuZs

— Charlie on Broadway (@CharlieOnBway) May 9, 2016