Pure imagination will take hold in Hong Kong this November as the Broadway musical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory makes its debut in the city. The recent announcement, made at Felix on the 28th floor of The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, was met with considerable buzz.Two cast members sat down with the South China Morning Post to discuss the challenges of bringing Roald Dahl’s beloved story to life on stage, the pressure of following Hollywood talent such as Gene Wilder – who played Willy Wonka in the 1971 movie adaptation Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory – and why Hong Kong audiences are in for a surprising, chocolate-filled treat.For those unfamiliar with Dahl’s 1964 bestselling novel, the story revolves around Charlie Bucket, who lives in poverty and starvation near Willy Wonka’s mysterious confectionery factory. When Wonka hides five golden tickets in chocolate bars for a secret tour, Charlie miraculously finds the last one.Alongside four horribly spoiled children, Charlie enters a surreal wonderland of chocolate rivers and singing Oompa-Loompas. Led by the eccentric Wonka, the tour becomes a test of character. One by one, the greedy children succumb to their vices, meeting bizarre, comically cruel fates. Only the polite, patient Charlie survives the tour unscathed, winning the ultimate prize and a future beyond his family’s wildest dreams.The novel has since sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and has been translated into dozens of languages.A scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical.Playing the enigmatic Wonka for the show’s Asia run is Daniel Plimpton, a New York native and veteran theatre actor.