PRESS RELEASE<P><B>“CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG”</B><BR>THE FIRST STAGE MUSICAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL HIT FILM<BR>TO RECEIVE ITS WORLD PREMIERE<BR>AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM<BR>ON TUESDAY 16 APRIL 2002<P>MICHAEL BALL TO STAR AS ‘CARACTACUS POTTS’<BR>EMMA WILLIAMS TO MAKE HER WEST END STAGE DEBUT AS ‘TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS’<P>“CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG”, the stage musical, will receive its world premiere at the London Palladium on Tuesday 16 April 2002, following previews from 19 March. This will be the first stage adaptation of the internationally known hit film made from Ian Fleming’s classic story. The London Palladium production will have sensational sets and stunning special effects and, of course, the memorable score by the Sherman Brothers, which includes such standards as “Truly Scrumptious”, “Toot Sweets”, “Hushabye Mountain” and the Oscar-nominated title song “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.<P>Here's the link to the <A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000500.html" TARGET=_blank><B>full press release</B></A>

Caractacus Potts would be the Dick Van Dyke part? Should be interesting to see Michael Ball (much as I love his voice) attempting 'Me Old Bamboo'. <p>[This message has been edited by Red Shoes (edited December 18, 2001).]

I thought exactly the same Red Shoes - that number is truly stunning in the film.

An 18 year old to play Truly Scrumptious???She must be a VERY mature talent.But then again wasnt Julie Andrews that age when she was in My Fair Lady???

Latest casting news from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in The Evening Standard.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Never before has a West End cast had such instructions. No sex, no fighting, no inappropriate sniffing, no slobbering on the audience. <P><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/hottx/music/top_review.html?in_review_id=436017&in_review_text_id=390487" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A><P>And in The Guardian.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In the long queue outside the London Palladium yesterday there were repeated outbreaks of growling, snapping, and bad tempered shoving for space. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,646009,00.html" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A><p>[This message has been edited by Joanne (edited February 08, 2002).]

<B>Quick! Before the critics spoil it</B> <BR>Why pay £37.50 for a show that's still being fine-tuned? Gareth McLean in The Guardian <BR>probes the mystery of the preview <P><BR>It may be water in the oil, faulty spark plugs or a dodgy ignition, but revving up Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for its West End debut seems to be taking an awfully long time. "The most fantasmagorical stage musical in the history of everything!" has four weeks of previews before its press night on April 16, which is a whole lot longer than it takes to suck a Toot Sweet away to nothing. <P>"We need all that time because this is the biggest show ever to hit the West End," says producer Michael Rose. <P><A HREF="http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/story/0,3604,670502,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

Why couldn't they ask Dick Van Dyke if he wanted to play his old part , at least for the first run of the musical..i would have booked tickets like a shot!!!

<B>Chitty gets off with a bang bang</B><BR>by Luke Leitch in The Evening Standard<P><BR>At more than £750,000, this old banger is believed to be the West End's most expensive prop ever - but then this particular old banger is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, able to travel through the air and over water. <P>In all, the lavish new stage version of the children's tale has cost £6.2 million to put on. But, even before the first night, more than £8 million worth of tickets have been sold. <P>The stage show is closely based on the classic 1968 film that starred Dick van Dyke as eccentric professor Caractacus Potts who invents a revolutionary flying car. <P><A HREF="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/hottx/theatre/review.html?in_review_id=482222&in_review_text_id=495429" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

An article in The Eveneing Standard on the leading lady Emma Williams.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>When Noble told the West End debutante that she'd got the part, she screamed, have him a massive hug ('which scared the life out of him'), phoned her mum and burst into tears. Funnily enough, less than two years before this, when up in the gods of the same theatre on her 17th birthday, Williams predicted to her mother 'one day I'll be on that stage'<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/hottx/theatre/review.html?in_review_id=482222&in_review_text_id=487989" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A>

Article in The Telegraph on Richard O'Brien who is playing the child catcher.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>No one does camp and creepy better than Richard O'Brien, the original Rocky Horror showman. The drug 'n' drag-loving star of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' talks to Robert Gore-Langton<BR><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/03/27/btobri24.xml&sSheet=/arts/2002/03/27/ixartright.html" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A>

Article in The Telegraph on The Sherman Brothers who wrote the words and music for Chitty Chitty Bang bang.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG was the movie musical from the Sixties that spoke to boys. Adapted by Roald Dahl from a book by Ian Fleming, it was a Bond film for children, touting gadgetry galore, an irredeemable villain and a car that, like Dumbo and Peter Pan, could fly.<P><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/03/30/btchitt30.xml&sSheet=/arts/2002/03/30/ixartleft.html" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A>

Article in The Evening Standard on the child stars from the film.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>It's the childhood dream of millions to appear in a glittering musical. Next week, that dream will come true for six youngsters who are getting their chance of a lifetime in the £6million West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In the audience for the first night will be two people who got their chance 34 years ago in the film version alongside Dick Van Dyke. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/hottx/theatre/review.html?in_review_id=482222&in_review_text_id=511966" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A>

Two articles linked to 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang':<P><B>Lifestyle: I need new mountains to climb</B><BR>She is 75 and has had two hip replacements. But nothing will stop the choreographer and dancer Gillian Lynne, whose latest musical opens tonight. Valerie Grove interviews the remarkable Gillian Lynne for The Times.<BR> <BR> <BR>While sitting talking in the bar of the London Palladium, Gillian Lynne effortlessly extends her right leg in the air beyond her right ear; followed by her left, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. <BR>I am all admiration. This woman opposite me is 75, and has two new hips. “Yes — but see how flexible they are.” Lynne is astonishing. Every blue-jeaned step she takes, every turn of her gamine head, every gesture has the agility of a gymnast. The cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which opens tonight, revere her. She is a walking advertisement for the benefits of seven decades of non-stop dancing. Narrow hips, flat stomach, tiny bottom. She starts out with natural advantages: good bones, slender limbs, a certain native lithe grace. I wondered how she discovered that she needed the new hips. <P><A HREF="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-7-268015,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><P>************************************<P>A different take on London's musicals:<P><B>In the enemy camp</B><BR>by Tim Teeman in The Times<BR>As Chitty Chitty Bang Bang lands in the West End, our critic explains why not all gay men adore camp classics Gay bad. <BR> <BR> <BR>My friend Kenny slammed on the brakes, bringing our car to a dead halt. “That’s it. The last straw,” he seethed. I had been humming along to a Kylie Minogue song, in which I thought she had been singing, rather radically, “No disco, no disco, no disco needs you!” Given its swooping chords and over-orchestration the track was, even for Queen Kylie, heavily aimed at homosexuals. Excellent, I thought: Kylie’s coming out against brain-dead gay disco culture! <P>Kenny looked murderous. “Why have you never been able to get song lyrics right? She’s singing ‘Your disco. Your disco. Your disco needs you!’” So Kylie’s not dissing dreary gay disco bunnies, I asked? <P><A HREF="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-47-267123,00.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><P>

Review in The Telegraph.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>In preparation for this £8 million stage version, though, I diligently sat down with my son Edward (nine), to watch the video properly. I got bored very quickly and kept falling asleep, but was nudged awake whenever my snoring became intolerable. At the end, Edward pronounced that it was the best film he'd ever seen, better even than Harry Potter. That's the trouble with children - no taste.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/04/18/btcs18.xml&sSheet=/arts/2002/04/18/ixartleft.html" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A><P>And in the Evening Standard.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Chitty Chitty Bang Bang hit the West End last night with an outburst of sheer theatrical magic. Not many stage vehicles land so smoothly as this account of Michael Ball's inventor, Caractacus Potts, his two young offspring and Miss Truly Scrumptious who find themselves threatened by danger and depravity in a land where children are an endangered species. <P><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/hottx/theatre/review.html?in_review_id=482222&in_review_text_id=523031" TARGET=_blank> <B> MORE </B> </A><p>[This message has been edited by Joanne (edited April 18, 2002).]

<B>Wheels fall off Chitty</B><BR>by Luke Leitch in The Evening Standard<P><BR>It's the £750,000 wonder-car that drives, floats and even flies, but Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has shown that old bangers, even magical ones, break down. <P>Hundreds of theatregoers - many of them children and pensioners - were left disappointed and confused last night when a computer problem left the shiny-bonnetted star of the new £6.5 million musical languishing in the pits, forcing its producers to cancel the evening's performance. <P>The breakdown comes the day after the musical's hugely successful world premiere at the Palladium. <P><A HREF="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/hottx/theatre/top_review.html?in_review_id=482222&in_review_text_id=524171" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><BR>