Photos provided by Broadway In Chicago

Taking cues from the 2005 flick “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” starring Johnny Depp, and to a lesser but still apparent extent, 1971’s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” with Gene Wilder, the Broadway tour based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel spent two-and-a-half-hours whipping up a strangely sweet batch of “Pure Imagination” at the Oriental Theatre. Appealing to both the little ones and young at heart (plus the multitude who’ve adapted it as a trippy cult classic over the years), the shiny musical overflows with eye-popping special effects, songs such as “The Candy Man” that have endured for generations, and as is the trend these days, updates to the characters and cultural references.

More than any visual or edible morsel, “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” excels at its lesson for all to dream as wide as the sky and never let even the most desperate circumstances stand in the way of finding the gold at the end of the wrapper.

Virtual reality, selfies, internet personalities and self-help pills pop up in several places, but the essence of an entire globe consumed by the quest for the “golden ticket” that gets them a glimpse inside Wonka’s magical place of employment drives the plot, which starts out a bit slow, but rapidly gains steam after intermission. Though four bratty and basically ungrateful kids unwrap their way to access, it’s the constantly daydreaming pauper boy Charlie (played at this particular performance by the tremendous Henry Boshart), who’s by far the most deserving of earning the final foot in the door.

Wonka (the more than capable but not quite silver screen equivalent Noah Weisberg) can sense the purity of Charlie’s spirit the moment he and Grandpa Joe (a spunky James Young) enter the premises, though that doesn’t excuse him from the obstacle course of zany contraptions and bizarre challenges that take down one annoying kid after the next. Along the way, anyone who’s ever savored a confection is likely to salivate over the chocolate and sugar-covered sets, while the show takes advantage of today’s production technology to send folks flying through the air, getting trapped then shrunk inside a TV and boarding a glass elevator for a bird’s eye view of the milky kingdom.

An enormous shout-out must be also made to the dancing but dangerous squirrels and the many cast members whose faces top tiny puppets playing Wonka’s sidekicks the Oompa-Loompas, all of whom instantly steal every scene they’re in and could give The Rockettes a competitive run for their Radio City money. But more than any visual or edible morsel, “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” excels at its lesson for all to dream as wide as the sky and never let even the most desperate circumstances stand in the way of finding the gold at the end of the wrapper.

Roald Dahl’s “Charlie And The Chocolate Factory” continues at the Oriental Theatre through Oct. 21. For additional details, visit CharlieOnBroadway.com and BroadwayInChicago.com.

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