Take a fantastic musical adventure with an out-of-this-world car that flies through the air and sails the seas. Based on the beloved 1968 film version of Ian Fleming’s children’s book, and featuring an unforgettable score by the Sherman Brothers (“Mary Poppins”), “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” is one family-friendly blockbuster that audiences will find “Truly Scrumptious.”
The musical is set to fly onto the Bainbridge Performing Arts stage for a holiday run from Dec. 1 through Dec. 17, with evening shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., early Saturday matinees at 2 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m.
There is no evening performance on Dec. 1, and the run includes a pay-what-you-can preview at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30; the opening night reception is planned for 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1.
In the play, an eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts, sets about restoring an old race car from a scrap heap with the help of his children, Jeremy and Jemima. They soon discover the car has magical properties, including the ability to float and take flight.
Trouble arrives, however, when the evil Baron Bomburst desires the magic car for himself. The family joins forces with Truly Scrumptious and batty Grandpa Potts to outwit the dastardly Baron and Baroness and their villainous henchman, the dastardly Child Catcher.
The production is led by an impressive artistic trio. This past summer, director Kristi Ann Jacobson marked her fifth year with the BPA Shakespeare program, directing “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in the meadow at the Bloedel Reserve. With a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s in French horn performance, musical director Kelli McAuley frequently plays in the pit orchestra, sings on stage, or provides music direction, and is the founder of both the Kitsap Community Youth Choir and Kitsap Fringe Opera. Choreographer Helen Heaslip is a recent Bainbridge Island transplant from London, where she worked as a movement tutor and choreographer on the BA and MA Acting programs at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
The cast includes Ryan Patrick O’Donnell, Evelyn Cantwell, Gracie Payne, Mackenzie Brown, Nelsen Spickard, Michelle Hensel, Robert Craighead, Miranda Feldtman, Gary Fetterplace, Terry McAuley, Pete Simpson, Isaac Etobi, Sarah Taylor, Jon Payne, Sophie Eldridge, Delaney Taylor, Emily Blackwell, Amber Goldby, Carter Wolff, Isabel McDermott, Molly Watkins, Audrey Benson, Olivia Opalski, Barrett Lhamon and Hailey McCulloch.
Tickets, $29 for adults, $24 for seniors, students, youth, military, and teachers, may be purchased online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206-842-8569, or in person at BPA (200 Madison Ave. North). Box office hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and one hour prior to each performance.
