Theatre Under the Stars returns to Stanley Park for a new season

Two famous stories of page and screen will soon be presented on stage in Vancouver.

Legally Blonde the Musical and Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be the featured shows in Theatre Under the Stars’ (TUTS) upcoming season at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park, which starts June 27.

The company has performed Legally Blonde twice before in the early 2010s, but this year will be the first time it will put on a production of the Dahl classic.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is such a great little show,” says Kevin Woo, general manager of TUTS. “It’s a well-known family story based on imagination and magic. It’s a very popular story that we love.”

Woo says Legally Blonde was chosen because it is one of the shows most requested by audiences.

“[They] remember our productions from back in 2013 and 2014 and want to see it again,” Woo says. “Or, they know the show and know the positive energy that it brings.”

Legally Blonde is about a young woman named Elle Woods who enrols in Harvard Law School to try to get back with her ex-boyfriend. Although she is mocked for her bubbly outward appearance, her unfailing positivity drives her to succeed as a lawyer while remaining true to herself and her expressive sense of style.

In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a polite young boy named Charlie Bucket finds a golden ticket that grants him an invitation to tour a mysterious candy factory owned by the elusive Willy Wonka.

“I love that the main characters find their happy endings or get what they deserve,” Woo says. “Charlie is this little kid who comes from not very much and is a very respectful kid who is enamoured with the mystery of the chocolate factory.”

Woo adds that as for Elle, she “steps out on her journey for one reason and finds her love of the law.”

Both stories were originally published as novels, with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory published in 1964 and author Amanda Brown’s Legally Blonde released in 2001. They have also both been adapted into films. Three major films from 1971, 2005, and 2023 have been based on the story behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with Legally Blonde having its own film in 2001 and sequel — Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde — in 2003.

Woo says that audiences familiar with the film version of Legally Blonde will find the stage show true to the story, but TUTS’ version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be less gruesome than the novel or the films.

“Roald Dahl’s original books are often darker than the stage plays … although the stories are very similar,” Woo says. 

He hopes that these stories will resonate with audiences through their exploration of characters who are both overlooked by others because of who they seem to be.

“Both characters find themselves and find out who they really are,” Woo says.

“I would hope audiences take away from the shows that they should be true to themselves. They should discover who they are and become the best person they can.”

Production for both shows began in December, while casting and rehearsals started in late April.

Woo says that audiences should look forward to “big, showy numbers” and “to see magic, positivity, and uplifting stories.”

“I think that it is going to be such an amazing season,” Woo says. “The audiences will leave in an upbeat mood.” 

The TUTS 2025 season will run until Aug. 16. Tickets start at $30.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.tuts.ca.