Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: all car, no subtlety

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, guess who the star is?

To call the touring production of *Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* ‘family friendly’ would be inaccurate. The show, imported by "Mirvish Productions":http://www.mirvish.com/OurShows/ and now playing at Toronto’s Canon Theatre, is very kid friendly, but parents hoping for an equally engaging theatrical experience may be disappointed.

The story of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is certainly not the problem. The production stays reasonably true to the whimsical and fanciful tale crafted for the 1968 film by Roald Dahl (who in turn adapted it from a children’s book by ‘James Bond’ author Ian Flemming). There are tweaks here and there, but the basics remain the same.

Widower and inventor Caractacus Potts’ life is turned on its head when he buys and refurbishes an old wreck of a racing car for Jeremy and Jemima, his two free-spirited children, only to discover the car, named Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after it’s rhythmic engine purr, has a mind of its own and a few unexpected tricks up its sleeve. Potts’ personal life also gets a tune-up after several contentious chance encounters with Truly Scrumptious, the sightly daughter of a wealthy candy magnate, lead to a blossoming romance. Things don’t stay idyllic for long thanks to Baron Bomburst, the villainous and toy-obsessed monarch of the small and oppressive European state of Vulgaria. Desiring the magnificent car for his own collection, the Baron sends two bumbling spies to snatch it away from Potts and his family. The spies fail to nab Chitty, but do kidnap Potts’ eccentric father, believing that he is the inventor of the car, thus leaving it to Potts, his children, Truly, and of course Chitty, to rescue Potts’ father from the Baron’s castle.

Unfortunately the artistry on stage doesn’t match the source material. The script adapted to the stage by Jeremy Sams and Ray Roderick is like watching a pantomime taking itself too seriously. Painful exposition mars the opening act and even the ‘adult’ jokes peppered throughout manage miss the mark. With regards to performances, Steve Wilson as Caractacus Potts is over the top and fails to generate any kind of tenderness or chemistry either with his children or love interest, while Kelly McCormick as Truly Scrumptious is similarly bland but makes up for it with the best singing voice of the cast. One pleasant standout is Dirk Lumbard as Boris, the sly and oily leader of the spy duo. Despite his two dimensional role, Lumbard makes the best of it with a dedicated and enthusiastic performance.

For a musical of this magnitude, the staging is pleasant but hardly spectacular. Entrances and exits are pragmatic and arbitrary, like a bad sitcom, rather than natural and motivated as they should be. The sets are beautiful, if somewhat decorative and two dimensional, and the lighting design makes use of a vibrant candy-coloured palette. The song numbers are well performed and serve to break up the less memorable dramatic scenes. Naturally, the highlight of the show is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang itself. Mounted on a cleverly concealed hydraulic jib, the illusions of road travel and flight are both pulled off expertly and with creative touches, such as the passing of a group of joggers.

This production barrels through the story of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with little consideration for subtlety or rhythm, but there is one thing that can not be denied: it’s a hit with kids. Whether children deserve to be patronized in such a manner is debatable, but the cheers and grins on the faces of the younger audience members made it clear that they did not mind. It is the holiday break after all, and maybe kids deserve some theatrical sugar before January rolls around and they have to chow down on the vegetable that is school.

_Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; Based on the MGM/United Artists Motion Picture; Music & Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Running in Toronto at the Canon Theatre until January 4, 2009. For more information fly_ "here":http://www.mirvish.com/chittychitty/

By Justin Haigh