Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The stage musical which premiered in 2002 is based on the iconic 1968 film starring Dick Van Dyke. Anyone attempting it has to go all out as far as the set, costumes and, of course, the car is concerned. Frome MTC certainly did that in abundance, with a magnificent car and set that was all designed and constructed by the company.  Despite a rather flimsy script, direction and Choreography from Vicki Klein was strong from the word go and maintained a good pace throughout. 

The cast was led by a Caractacus Potts who acted well and struck up a good rapport with the children, showing real warmth between them.  He came across as very likeable, with a good energy and was also a very accomplished dancer.

The children spoke clearly, sang beautifully and were wonderful to watch and, likewise, the rest of the children in the cast were equally delightful and performed well.

There was plenty of comedy, but Baron and Baroness Bomburst really stole the show for me.  The absurd accents were perfect; they sang well and were larger than life characters in every one of their appearances on stage. 

There was plenty for the ensemble to do in this show and they did it with great energy and precision. There was a good choral sound when required but they also moved well in some quite intricate dance numbers.  Choreography by Vicki Klein was, on the whole, very good with plenty going on and was evidently very well-drilled and rehearsed. I didn’t feel the tap really worked in ‘The Roses of Success’, but the inventors still managed to make this one of the most entertaining scenes in the second half. 

Sound and lighting were very good and really enhanced the action without distracting us from it.

The ‘Vulgarian National Symphony Orchestra’ played magnificently under the direction of James Finbow, producing a wonderful sound and well balanced with the cast.

Costumes and makeup were all excellent, with lovely bright colours and good attention to detail. There were so many costume changes, this must have been a mammoth task by the wardrobe team, so very well done.

The set was excellent and the moveable flats worked well to create the different scenes. Crew and cast worked efficiently to place and remove props.  The car received the rapturous applause it deserved and delighted the packed audience when it lifted from the floor and its wings popped out.  Not underestimating the technical challenges presented it would perhaps have been nice to have seen the car perform some other manoeuvres.  That said, the crew and construction team responsible should feel very proud, as it was undoubtedly their efforts that turned this into such an outstanding production. 

Many congratulations to the cast and crew on a fabulous night of entertainment.

 

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