Performing on the stage amid the Victorian splendour of Blackpool's Grand Theatre must surely be a thrill in itself, but add to that the chance to perform the one of the most famous fantasy cars in literary history... Chitty herself! So for the young children on stage this evening it must have been a double-whammy!
Yes, the famous film musical, 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' has arrived in Blackpool, and features a replica of the famous car that wowed our childhood, flying off to Bavaria - sorry Vulgaria - to fight the evil Baron and Baroness; and yes, with the use of some cleverly hidden hydraulics, our car flies a little too!
For a full-scale musical however, the cast was very thin on the ground. The full chorus numbers looked very sparse and bare on the Grand's stage, whilst using only 4 children in the sewers was minimalism taken too far! However. those on stage worked hard to try and create the moods and styles required for each dance number, despite the majority of the cast not being dancers and the choreography being simplistic and minimal. The feeling was however, joyous and jovial throughout, with all the cast enjoying their stage time and working well to create their requisite characters and ensemble feel. This is a feel-good show, and the entire cast made us feel good!
A professional set (although negotiating some of the items on and off stage caused a few issues), effective sound and lighting design and a proficient band in the pit under the direction of Dave Bintley, all played their parts in bringing this show to fruition and to the standard that it clearly was.
The principals were headed by Andy Vitolo performing the role of Caractacus Potts (Vitolo also directed the show); Potts is a sympathetic and family character and something of a "crack-pot" inventor, but it is his relationships with those around him that truly make this show the heart-warming, family favourite that it is. He has two delightful young children, Jemima and Jeremy, who in this evening's performance were played 'par excellence' by Elena Bleakley and Rex Tomlinson respectively; he has an even more eccentric father, Caractacus Pots Snr, who despite (probably) never being in the army, wears full military garb throughout, and was performed here with ease and skill by a very personable Paul Hilton; and as the musical progresses, he has a blossoming romance with the upper-class daughter of sweet-shop business magnate. Lord Scrumptious, Truly, played this evening by Rebecca Whitaker. Whitaker has a very pleasing singing voice, and once she started to warm to Potts and his children, her characterisation mellowed and softened nicely, however, she did start the show far too abrasively and so it was very difficult to imagine such a character softening so quickly.
Comedy was found in the Vulgarian characters who, of course, hammed up their roles for all they were worth. They were Katy Connelly (Baroness), Harvey King (Baron), Jack Learoyd and Joshua Coster, a double-act of Goran and Boris, two inept spies.
Each short scene this evening was performed with skill, however, had I not already have known the show and the storyline, I would have been lost, finding that I was needing to join the dots so to speak. There was much of the necessary plot missing, and the audience needed to either second-guess or compose their own narrative in order to make sense of the scenes. very strange. I have seen this musical many times before, including the UK professional tour twice, and never had this problem before, and so am most uncertain as to what was not not working here.
Upbeat, high energy, feel-good, and with lots of catchy toe-tapping tunes, this show is guaranteed to make you leave the theatre humming the oft-repeated 'Chitty' song, and with a huge grin on your face!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 31.8.23
on - 31.8.23
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