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1 PRESS KIT CHITTYCHITTY.COM.AU

2 Music and Lyrics by RICHARD M. SHERMAN and ROBERT B. SHERMAN Adapted for the Stage by JEREMY SAMS & RAY RODERICK Based on the MGM Motion Picture by arrangement with Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd Exclusive agent for Music Theatre International (NY) ROGER HODGMAN Director DANA JOLLY Choreographer PETER CASEY Musical Director ANTHONY WARD Scenic and Costume Designer MATT SCOTT Lighting Designer TIM LAWSON Producer

3 CHITTY FLIES INTO QPAC NOVEMBER 2013! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang doesn t just fly it soars ADELAIDE ADVERTISER After nearly four years enchanting audiences in London, across the UK and on Broadway, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG landed in Australia in 2012, playing to packed houses in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and now it is Queensland s turn to be captivated by this wonderfully fun show. Opening at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) from November 2013, in the Lyric Theatre, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG is sure to delight and excite audiences of all ages. As the longest running musical ever to play the London Palladium and with the most expensive theatre prop in British history the show s Australian producer Tim Lawson said he was thrilled to be bringing the show to Queensland from November This musical takes inspiration from both the popular 1968 film and the original book written by Ian Fleming, said Mr Lawson. CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG is an action packed adventure telling the story of the magical flying car, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts and his two children Jemima and Jeremy, alongside Truly Scrumptious and Grandpa Potts, who are all trying to outwit the dastardly Baron Bomburst and the evil Child Catcher. Directed by Roger Hodgman, choreographed by Dana Jolly and with musical direction by Peter Casey this stage adaption is bold, both cutting from and adding to the original. The Australian creative team and magnificent cast, lead by Rachael Beck and David Hobson, really bring the beloved characters including Chitty to life, concluded Mr Lawson. QPAC Chief Executive, Mr John Kotzas believes that Queensland audiences will enjoy this production, which lands at QPAC just in time for the summer school holidays. We know Queensland audiences love musical theatre. In just the past two years more than people have attended musical theatre productions at QPAC including Mary Poppins, Annie and Jersey Boys and we re sure audiences will now love CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG features music by the Sherman Brothers, who also wrote the music for

4 Mary Poppins. This Australian production features all of the iconic songs from the original film and brings a full company of over 70 (including eight dogs), sensational sets and stunning special effects. Children will be able to join in the magic with performances throughout the summer school holiday period, and I m sure there are many parents out there who remember the 1968 movie of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG starring Dick Van Dyke very fondly, said Mr Kotzas. The most highly anticipated family musical of 2013, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, will be presented at QPAC from November 2013, with tickets on sale from Tuesday 4 June, 9am via qpac. com.au or Tim Lawson and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre present Chitty Chitty Bang Bang WHEN: Previews from 19 November 2013 WHERE: Lyric Theatre, QPAC, South Bank, Brisbane TICKETS*: From $65.90 BOOKINGS: qpac.com.au or *Ticket price includes GST and Booking Fee. Please note transaction fees may apply. Tickets on sale to the general public 9am Monday 3 June join the waitlist now via qpac.com.au. To download full Media Kit including bios click here For further information, images or interviews please contact: QPAC Publicity Inga Tracey ~ inga.tracey@qpac.com.aucom.au / Cindy Ulrich ~ cindy.ulrich@qpac.com.au.com.au / CHITTYCHITTY.COM.AU

5 The original United Artists motion picture Chitty Chitty Bang Bang first hit the cinema screens in 1968 and has been a firm family classic ever since. Based on a story by Ian Fleming, the movie began life as a personal dream of James Bond producer, Albert R Cubby Broccoli. As with all his film projects, Cubby Broccoli surrounded himself with the very best British talent available to ensure the success of Chitty, which at the time was publicised as the largest and most expensive musical ever filmed in England. The director, Ken Hughes, who had also adapted the screenplay with prolific children s author Roald Dahl, led the British film crew. The Sherman brothers, fresh from major success with the Disney studios, provided the score and songs, earning an Oscar nomination in the process. Cubby Broccoli s original plans for the enchanting tale of the magical car always included a possible stage version, but not until 2002 did stage technology allow the dream to become a reality. The producers of the stage musical, headed by the Broccoli family, were faced with the challenge of finding the director who could assemble the very best of British theatrical talent to create the largest stage musical ever seen in London s West End. Their search led them to Adrian Noble, the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. When asked about the adaptation (by Jeremy Sams and Ray Roderick) Adrian Noble says that the film is definitely the show s starting point. Roald Dahl s screenplay had moved things on a long way from Fleming s original and I think that we have moved things on further still. We have been bold, both added to and cut from the film, developing and reducing certain scenes and characters. Designer Anthony Ward explains that, working closely with Noble, stylistically a new world has been created for Chitty on stage. You will believe a car can fly and it is that respect of the design which brings greatest pride to Ward. I am delighted every time I see the car fly. It is wonderful that three companies came together to make it work so well (Howard Eaton Lighting, Delstar and Stage Technologies). It is terribly exciting and takes my breath away every time. Gillian Lynne had to find a way of staging the famous musical set pieces from the film, which were originally shot in short bursts of just 16 bars. Her greatest challenge was to make the same numbers interesting and exciting but with steps where the cast can sustain four minutes of intricate showy stuff and still look fresh. Having worked with Noble on The Secret Garden, Lynne says that the artistic team knew each other so well and were not afraid of each other s ideas. Perhaps that inspired Teamwork, one of the new songs written by the legendary Sherman brothers who were on hand to create new musical numbers for the show. Producer Fred Zollo says one of the most remarkable experiences of my life was being present in our very own living room at the creation of a brand new Sherman brothers soon-to-be classic song. New orchestrations by Chris Walker provide a different take from the film so that they sound completely fresh says Musical Director Robert Scott. He also adds that audience familiarity was a definite help to the show, so many people genuinely say that Chitty was their favourite film as a child. It is amazing to hear people clapping along from the first notes of the overture and singing all the words as they leave the theatre. Adrian Noble is a passionate believer in quality theatre for the whole family. I want to be amazed he says by all the elements - singing, dancing, acting, costumes, scenery, lighting design, everything - I want them to be astonished, to fall in love with the experience and return to the theatre again, not just to see Chitty but to see any show. There is no doubt that Adrian Noble has achieved these aims and made Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the most fantasmagorical stage musical in the history of everything. The breathtaking locations of the film were captured (but not recreated) on the stage of the London Palladium to meet Adrian Noble s desire to engage the audience s imagination.

6 The real Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was built in 1921 by Count Louis Zborowski, perhaps the best-known amateur racing driver of his time, who lived at Higham Place, a large country house, near Canterbury in Kent. The son of a Polish Count and American mother, Zborowski was an eccentric gentleman wealthy enough to own and race many cars both in Europe and America. He took racing very seriously but was known for his fun approach and colourful clothing (especially chequered golfing caps) so one could suggest similarities with Fleming s creation of Caractacus Potts. At Higham, along with his engineer Captain Clive Gallop, he built four aero-engined cars and called three of them Chitty Bang Bang. A fourth monster car, also built at Higham, was called the Higham Special or Babs and was used in Parry Thomas fatal attempt for the land speed record at Pendine Sands in This last car survives today, fully restored, and still takes to the concrete at Brooklands on special occasions. Chitty 1 was the first amateur aero-engined machine to achieve great fame at Brooklands racetrack. The 23-litre, six-cylinder Maybach Gotha Bomber engine was obtained from the WWI Disposals Board, and shoe-horned into a pre-1914 chain drive Mercedes chassis, which had to be lengthened to accommodate it. First appearing at the Brooklands Easter meeting in 1921 with a four-seat body, and obviously inefficient exhaust system, it was described as a brutal car put together by a madman, but Count Zborowski was more astute than he first appeared. The car s initial shortcomings were probably a ruse to avoid ridicule if the car failed on its first time out. An unnecessary ruse though, as Chitty won two races and came second in another (behind another Zborowski car). The first win was the 100 mph Brooklands Short Handicap at a speed of mph. During the 1922 Whitsun meeting at Brooklands Chitty 1 achieved her fastest lap at mph. She missed the August meeting but returned in September for what was to be her last outing. Brooklands was built as a record breaker s track feet wide concrete all the way round with a very steep, almost vertical in places, gradient on the two banked sections. In practice Chitty shed a tyre and left the banking at high speed smashing straight through the timing box at the beginning of Railway straight. A track official named Mr Chamberlain was in the box and saw the car coming but could not avoid being clipped as it crashed through, losing three of his fingers as a result. Chitty 1 was rebuilt but never raced again by the Count. He became part of the Mercedes team in 1924 and perished soon afterwards in one of their cars, before his 30th birthday, hitting a tree during the Italian Grand Prix. After his death Chitty was purchased by the Conan Doyle brothers who were the sons of Sir Arthur, the author who created Sherlock Holmes. They ran her at a speed trial in the 1930s after which she was exhibited at Brooklands but subsequently abandoned outside. The elements took their toll and eventually someone sawed the chassis in half to get her gearbox for use in another car. A very sad end for a great vehicle and Fleming s inspiration for Coggin s Yard. Brooklands race track in Weybridge, Surrey was the first purpose built motor racing circuit in the world and is now open as part of a 30 acre museum celebrating its history as the birthplace of not only British motorsport but also of British aviation. Written by Mark Fox By Whitsun a two-seater duck s back racing body had been fitted and modifications included a cowled radiator and having the exhaust system properly flowed in. The poor showing earlier and crudeness of the vehicle had fooled the handicappers and guaranteed him a place on the starting line with a 10-second advantage. The new Chitty was even more successful and the Count trounced his competitors (especially a 350 hp V12 Sunbeam) in the first race. The advantage was removed for the second race but she was clocked at 120 mph down the railway straight. Despite further handicap revisions in the following months Chitty continued to impress. Chitty 2 was constructed in the summer of the same year, similar to the first car but with a shorter wheelbase, an early Mercedes chassis and an 18.8 litre Benz BZ IV series aero neither was successful on the day. Chitty 2 never raced at Brooklands again but was kept by Lou as a much loved and very fast road car. He even drove it deep into the Sahara in January 1922 on a tour undertaken with friends. After many years in America, Chitty 2 was loaned to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in 1992 and is now in private ownership.

7 Ken Adam, Production Designer for the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang who later won Oscars for his work on Barry Lyndon and The Madness of King George, was adamant that as the star of the film only a real car would be good enough. Rowland Emmett was already on board to design all the mad inventions that appeared in the film so he too had an input. They were joined by the Ford racing team, headed by Alan Mann, and together set out to create a film and motoring legend. The all important engine was a Ford 3000 V6 with automatic transmission and the vehicle was actually registered with Ian Fleming s invented number plate - GEN 11 (reading as Genii to mean magical being) so that it could be used in road driving sequences the UK registration system would not allow the more familiar British spelling of Genie. The vehicle weighed approximately two tonnes, was 17 feet long and built on a custom made ladder frame chassis. No detail was spared in her creation to ensure that she stood up to the close scrutiny of the 70 mm film camera. The Corgi model of the film Chitty became one of their most sought after models and are still much treasured although most of them probably no longer have a working wing mechanism following years of heavy play. Corgi has recently released a new version of the original toy. Chitty paid a visit to the London Palladium in November 2001 to launch the stage version of the much loved film and, as usual, created a great deal of interest, not least from the Westminster traffic wardens! Written by Mark Fox

8 Albert R Cubby Broccoli OBE Original Film Producer Legendary film producer A R Cubby Broccoli originally brought Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the screen in Born in New York in 1909, he began his career in the film industry as an assistant director for Howard Hughes. He also worked as a theatrical agent in Hollywood before coming to England in 1951 to launch Warwick Films with Irving Allen. Among the successes which followed were The Red Beret, Hell Below Zero, Cockleshell Heroes and The Trials of Oscar Wilde. In 1961, in association with Harry Saltzman, he formed Eon Productions and began the series of films starring Ian Fleming s James Bond hero, starting with Dr No in The Broccoli Saltzman partnership continued with From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Thunderball, On Her Majesty s Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, The Man With the Golden Gun and Live and Let Die. In 1976 the partnership ended and Broccoli continued the series with The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. He then co-produced with stepson Michael G Wilson A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights and License to Kill. In 1995 he decided that he would present Goldeneye but leave the day-today producing to Michael G Wilson and his daughter Barbara. Cubby Broccoli died in 1996 knowing that the James Bond series that he started would continue well into the next century. Although he was internationally recognised as being the man behind the James Bond films, Cubby Broccoli was most proud of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He carefully handpicked his key James Bond collaborators to help him bring Ian Fleming s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the screen. Roald Dahl Co-Screenplay Writer Roald Dahl was born in He began his writing career when he was encouraged to write by C S Forrester, whom he met while posted in Washington as an assistant air attache in His first book was The Gremlins, soon followed by other tales for children including James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl s popularity became a phenomenon. He won numerous awards, including, in the UK, the Whitbread Award 1983 for The Witches and the Children s Book Award in 1988 for Matilda. Dahl s first screenplay credit was for You Only Live Twice followed by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Ken Adam Film Designer Ken Adam entered the film industry in 1947, following his discharge from the Royal Air Force. He worked as an art director on many European based films for Robert Aldrich and John Ford, and went on to work on Around the World in Eighty Days. His association with Cubby Broccoli began with The Trials of Oscar Wilde and continued with his spectacular and highly acclaimed sets for seven James Bond films. His other film credits include such classics as Dr Strangelove, Goodbye Mr Chips and The Ipcress File. He has also been honoured with two Academy Awards for his work on Barry Lyndon and The Madness of King George. Ken recently won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Art Directors Guild. Ken Hughes Film Director and Co-Screenplay Writer Born in Liverpool in 1922, Ken Hughes set his heart on a film career when at the age of 14 he won a national film contest. His introduction to the film industry was as a rewind boy in the projection booth at his local cinema. Moving to London he joined the BBC, became a fully qualified sound engineer and at the age of 21 he wrote, produced and photographed his first documentary. In 1952, he directed his first feature Wide Boy. Prior to directing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (which he co-wrote with Roald Dahl) he had directed more than 20 films including Joe Macbeth, Arrividerci Baby and the highly acclaimed The Trials of Oscar Wilde produced by Cubby Broccoli. His other numerous film credits include Cromwell and Sextette. Ken Hughes died in Los Angeles in 2001.

9 The man whose imagination gave flight to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is best known as the author of 14 books about the world s most famous secret agent James Bond 007. These enormously successful books, which have sold over 72 million copies, were written between 1952 and 1964 when Fleming died at the age of 56. The first book to be filmed was Dr No in 1962 and this marked the beginning of the incredibly successful and popular series of Bond films, all of which have been produced by Albert R Broccoli s Eon Productions. Fleming was born in 1908 in London to a banking family, originally from Scotland. His father was killed in World War I when he was eight. He was educated at Eton and trained briefly for the army at Sandhurst. He finished his studies in Munich and Geneva, becoming proficient in German and French. After failing the exam for the Foreign Office, he joined Reuters as a journalist and worked briefly in Moscow. From 1933 to 1939 he was a stockbroker in London. In 1952 he married Ann, Lady Rothermere in Jamaica, where he had a home, and began the first Bond novel. He spent two winter months there every year from then on and most of his writing was completed in the house that he had named Goldeneye. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written for his son, Caspar. Although a work of pure fantasy, it was rooted in the truth. There was a car named Chitty Bang Bang (just one Chitty) that had belonged to a Prince Zborowski. The story begins with a wrecked and rusting car, the fate of the real Chitty. Like all Fleming s writing it included all the elements of adventure that he enjoyed beautiful cars and bombs and spies. Caspar, the first to enjoy Chitty s magic, died tragically in The book was first published in the year of Fleming s death (1964) and reached the silver screen four years later. The screenplay was adapted in part by the children s author, Roald Dahl (who also wrote the film version of You Only Live Twice). The movie has been a regular family favourite ever since. Written by Mark Fox When World War II broke out, he was recruited to work in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty, rising to the rank of Commander. It was here that he acquired a thorough knowledge of intelligence work, and many of his experiences and acquaintances found their way into his novels. For instance, Admiral Godfrey, to whom he was personal assistant, was the model for M. Even the name, James Bond, was taken from a real person - an American ornithologist. After the war, Fleming returned to newspapers, and became the foreign manager of Kemsley newspapers, holding the post until It is likely that in this job, he, or his foreign correspondents, did some covert work for the Foreign Office. It is however known that he was involved in the founding of the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA. His first published work was in fact a style guide for foreign correspondents. The actual James Bond books were Casino Royale (1953), Live and Let Die (1954), Moonraker (1955), Diamonds Are Forever (1956), From Russia With Love (1957), Dr No (1958), Goldfinger (1959), For Your Eyes Only (1960), Thunderball (1961), The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), On Her Majesty s Secret Service (1963), You Only Live Twice (1964), The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) and Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966). In addition to the novels, Fleming published a travel book, Thrilling Cities, based on articles first published in The Sunday Times, as well as an account of the diamond trade, The Diamond Smugglers. His journalism included a weekly column, Atticus, in The Sunday Times. He was an avid book collector, and a keen golfer.

10 Act I Overture Opening - Chitty Theme/Teamwork You Two You Two (Reprise) Them Three Toot Sweets Act English Hushabye Mountain Me Ol Bamboo Posh Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Truly Scrumptious Chitty Nautical Chase Chitty Takes Flight - Act I Finale Act II Entr acte Vulgarian National Anthem The Roses of Success Chu Chi Face Hushabye Mountain (Reprise) Teamwork (Reprise) Bombie Samba Doll on a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious (Reprise) The Chase Teamwork (Reprise) Finale - Chitty Flies Home (Reprise)

11 Act I The scene opens in Mr Coggins junkyard. As the story begins, two children named Jeremy and Jemima Potts are pretending to race in an old broken down race car a race car that beat the Vulgarians and won the British Grand Prix three years in a row before a fiery crash took her off the road in 1910 (Chitty Theme). Their father, Caractacus Potts, an inventor, is also at the junkyard looking for a part for his breakfast-making machine. While Mr Coggins goes to find the part, the children convince their father to pretend to race the car with them (Teamwork). As they race we see the Baron and Baroness of Vulgaria tell their two zany spies, who are already in England, that they must find this car and bring it to Vulgaria. Just as the Potts family wins their pretend race, Truly Scrumptious arrives on an out-of-control broken motorcycle. She sees Jeremy and Jemima and asks their father why they are not in school. He laughs, it gives the other children a chance to catch up, and then fixes Truly s motorcycle so she can be on her way. Jeremy and Jemima like her and even though their father says the contrary, they think he s smitten with her too. Caractacus, a widower, asks his children if they feel he is a good and responsible father (You Two). Just as Coggins returns with the part, the Junkman arrives and offers 30 shillings for the old car to use for scrap metal. Coggins tells the children he must sell it. He promises Caractacus that if he can come up with 30 shillings, he will sell it to him, as he has always wanted to see the old car fixed up and back on the road where she belongs. They walk to their windmill home, where Caractacus fixes the breakfast-making machine and serves breakfast. Grandpa and Edison (the family dog) smell the sausages, and join them for breakfast. Just as they are about to eat, the sound of a sputtering motorcycle is heard. It s Truly. Seeing Jeremy and Jemima, she realises that this unique home is that of the Potts family. She is impressed and fascinated by the inventions made by Caractacus, and compliments him. Caractacus turns on his sweet-making machine and gives her a freshly made sweet. She examines it and asks if it is supposed to have holes in it. He says no. She exclaims that the boiling point of the sugar is too high. Not realising that her father owns the sweets factory, and that she is an expert in sweet making, Caractacus feels insulted and immediately fixes her motorcycle again and sends her on her way. As Caractacus tastes the sweet, he inadvertently blows through the holes. It whistles. He realises that he has invented a candy that makes noise. He blows it again and Edison comes running. He blows it one more time and the rest of the family comes running too. He tells them all he now knows how he is going to get 30 shillings to buy an old car for his two wonderful children. He takes his children with him to sell his musical candy idea to Lord Scrumptious and his sweet factory. Grandpa is left alone at home with Edison (Them Three). The next day, Caractacus and his children pay a visit to the Scrumptious Sweet Factory, trying to sell his new candy, which he calls Toots Sweets. They run into Truly, who tries to get her father, Lord Scrumptious, to buy it (Toots Sweets). The candy-maker tries one, blowing on its whistle, which causes dozens of wild dogs to invade the factory. Caractacus and his family make a hasty retreat. Meanwhile, the two spies have raised the money to buy the car, but they realise that Coggins will never sell it to two Vulgarians. They decide to disguise themselves as Englishman (Act English). Back at the windmill, Caractacus is more determined than ever to buy the car for his children. He sings them a lullaby (Hushabye Mountain), and then takes one of his inventions, an automatic haircutting machine, to a local fair. There he meets Violet and her boyfriend, Sid. The machine cuts all of Sid s hair off and he is furious! Caractacus tries to make his escape and gets caught up in some dancers getting ready to perform (Me Ol Bamboo). Luckily for Caractacus, Sid turns out to be a chicken farmer, who realises he can use his haircutting machine to pluck and cook chickens. He pays Caractacus 30 shillings for the invention. Caractacus immediately buys the car. Caractacus sets to work fixing the car, while Grandpa keeps the children occupied (Posh). The two spies lurk in the shadows, waiting for their moment to pounce. Finally, Caractacus is finished. They all admire the gleaming car, which they name Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after the sound she makes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). They decide to go on a picnic at the seaside. Along the way they meet up with Truly, who they invite to go to the beach with them. She jumps into Chitty and they continue their trip to the beach. Once there, Jeremy and Jemima tell Truly that they love her, and she confesses that she cares for them as well (Truly Scrumptious). As the children sleep, Caractacus and Truly begin to realise that they have feelings for each other. Distracted, they don t realise that the tide has come in and surrounded the car. If that wasn t bad enough, a Vulgarian ship begins to fire on them! Suddenly Chitty begins to transform into a boat-car, and they are able to escape from their pursuers. Learning

12 that Chitty can float on the water makes Baron Bomburst want the car even more. Back at the windmill, thinking that Grandpa is the inventor they are looking for, the Vulgarians kidnap Grandpa by lifting him up in his hut with a large hook attached to an airship. Caractacus, Truly and the children speed after them, not realising they are heading straight for a cliff. As they plummet to the ground, Chitty grows wings and takes flight to Vulgaria in pursuit of Grandpa! Act II The Vulgarian air ship deposits Grandpa in the Vulgarian town square (Vulgarian National Anthem). Still believing that Grandpa is a brilliant inventor, Baron Bomburst orders him to make his car float and fly. Grandpa meets six inventors who have been prisoners of the Baron for years. Grandpa despairs, but the inventors tell him that nothing is impossible (The Roses of Success). Caractacus, Truly and the children arrive in Vulgaria, secretly searching for Grandpa. The Toymaker brings them into his shop just in time, for The Child Catcher appears, sniffing the air for the thing the Baroness has banned from all Vulgaria children! In the sewers, Truly arrives, and tells Caractacus that his children have been captured by The Child Catcher. The Toymaker says they would be jailed in the castle tower (Hushabye Mountain Reprise). Caractacus is determined not only to rescue his children and Grandpa, but to put an end to the misery of Vulgaria (Teamwork - Reprise). At the Baron s party, the Toymaker nervously brings out his latest toys: two life-sized dolls. As they spring to life and begin to sing, we realise they are Truly and Caractacus in disguise (What Do You See?). As the court is distracted by their performance, the army of children appears. Will they win over the forces of Vulgaria? Will the Baron and Baroness be defeated? Will Grandpa be rescued? With teamwork, imagination, and the help of a magical car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang flies, swims, and rides to a breathtaking finale! The Toymaker shows Caractacus where the people of Vulgaria have hidden their children underground, in the sewers. At the toyshop, as Truly is out searching for food, The Child Catcher lures Caractacus children into his candy cart which is actually a jail on wheels. Truly arrives back just in time to see The Child Catcher taking Jeremy and Jemima away. The scene shifts to the Baron and the Baroness as they prepare for the Baron s birthday party (Chu Chi Face), and the Baroness describes her grand plans for the festivities (Bombie Samba).

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14 David Hobson Caractacus Potts Australian tenor David Hobson is one of Australia s most popular singers and recording artists with a career ranging from opera to television and cabaret. He is also a successful composer. Well-known to opera audiences since he made his opera debut with Victoria State Opera in 1986, David has found a huge new following through his television appearances on It Takes Two, Dancing with the Stars, Carols in the Domain, Carols by Candlelight, Spicks and Specks, and as a presenter on the Foxtel arts channel STVDIO. David has sung many roles for Opera Australia, including award-winning performances as Rodolfo in Baz Luhrmann s production of La Bohème and the title role in Orphée et Eurydice. He has also performed for Australia s state opera companies and internationally. His other opera roles include Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Ferrando (Cosi fan tutte), Count Almaviva (The Barber of Saville), Nadir (Pearl Fishers), Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance), Lindoro (L Italiana in Algeri), The Architect in the world premiere of The Eighth Wonder, Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Danilo (The Merry Widow) and the title role in Candide. Special engagements include the world premiere of Dangerous Liaisons with the San Francisco Opera, a performance in the Great Hall, Canberra for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Schubert s Winterreise for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and singing the national anthem at the AFL Grand Final. He has also performed his own show at the Sydney Opera House and at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. David s compositions include a music theatre version of Macbeth, the chamber opera Remembering Rosie, and the soundtrack to the film One Perfect Day, which was awarded Best Score by the Australian Film Critics Association. He has won numerous other awards including Operatic Performer of the Year, the Sydney Critics Circle Award, The Age Performing Arts Award for Best Performer in Opera, and an Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Award. He has recorded numerous albums with many reaching No 1 chart status. Rachael Beck Truly Scrumptious Rachael Beck is one of the leading ladies of Australian musical theatre. She is widely remembered for her awardwinning performance as Belle in Beauty and the Beast opposite Hugh Jackman, and featured on the Australian cast recording of the show, which won an ARIA Award in Over the course of a long, dynamic career, Rachael s memorable leading roles include Fantine in Les Misérables and Rumpleteaser in Cats, both produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Sally Bowles in the IMG production of Cabaret directed by Sam Mendes, Maria in the Gordon Frost/SEL production of The Sound of Music, and Kathy Selden in Singin in the Rain directed by David Atkins. Other stage credits include The Pajama Game and Call Me Madam for The Production Company, Summer Rain, A Little Night Music, Secret Bridesmaids Business and Henry IV Part I for the Sydney Theatre Company, the Australian/New Zealand tour of Me and My Girl, and the world premiere of Eureka directed by Gale Edwards. Most recently, Rachael toured Australia in Side by Side by Sondheim and played the lead role of Claire in the musical Ordinary Days at Darlinghurst Theatre. Her impressive list of television credits includes It Takes Two, Hey Dad!, City Homicide, Stingers and Flying Doctors among others. A highly skilled concert performer, Rachael was a special guest on Jason Robert Brown s The One Night Only Tour in Australia in She has worked with Todd McKenney and Tommy Tycho in a series of concerts with Australia s symphony orchestras called Broadway to Hollywood and has performed in various other concerts with Australia s orchestras in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. She also toured nationally in Jeff Wayne s War of the Worlds. Rachael has performed several cabaret shows with Ian Stenlake including Twelve Acts of Cabaret and More Than Words for the 2011 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Rachael is also an ambassador for the Australian Children s Music Foundation founded by Don Spencer.

15 Roger Hodgman Director Roger Hodgman was born and raised in Tasmania, where he first worked in the theatre and ABC television. He taught for five years at the East 15 Acting School in London, then worked in Canada first as Director of the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School, then as Artistic Director of the Playhouse, Vancouver s main theatre company. A highlight was collaborating with Tennessee Williams on the premieres of two new plays. He returned to Australia to become Dean of Drama at the Victorian College of the Arts and Associate Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company. Roger became Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company in 1987 and during 12 successful years he directed over 50 productions, many of which toured nationally. Among them were acclaimed productions of four Stephen Sondheim musicals, Shakespeare, 20 th century classics and new Australian plays. He received two Green Room Awards for Best Director. His production of Sweeney Todd won the Sydney Critics Award for Best Production and his production of Skylight was named one of the 10 highlights of the 1990s by the Sydney Morning Herald. Since leaving MTC he has pursued a varied and busy freelance career including plays (his production of Art toured nationally), musicals, (nine highly praised productions for The Production Company and She Loves Me and Wonderful Town for a record breaking season in Canada s prestigious Shaw Festival) and operas for Oz Opera, Opera Queensland and Victorian Opera. He has worked extensively in television drama, directing 12 episodes of Secret Life of Us (for which he received an AFI nomination) and episodes of many other well known drama series including Blue Heelers, White Collar Blue, CrashBurn, Stingers, MDA, Holly s Heroes (Lead Director/AFI Award for Best Children s Drama Series), Wicked Science 2 (Lead Director), Lockie Leonard (AFI Award and BAFTA nomination for Best Children s Drama), and Elephant Princess (Lead Director/ AFI award for Best Children s Drama Series). His telemovie, Stepfather of the Bride written by Geoffrey Atherden was shown on the ABC in 2007 to critical acclaim and large audiences. It won the award for best telemovie at the recent Chicago Film festival. He has also conducted acting and music theatre master classes for MEAA, Canadian Actor s Equity and numerous organisations in Australia and Canada. Recent credits include a large scale production of Bernstein s Wonderful Town for the Shaw Festival in Canada, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels for The Production Company, eight episodes of Lockie Leonard 2 (Lead Director) for Goalpost Pictures (AFI nomination for Best Children s Drama), Memory of Water and Twelfth Night for Black Swan in Perth, Handel s Xerxes for Victorian Opera, City Homicide for Channel 7, Shanghai Lady Killer (Co-Director) for Stalker Theatre and the Brisbane Festival. In 2011, he restaged a production of Lakme for the Australian Opera, directed The Coffee Cantana for the Victorian Opera and restaged his production of Xerxes for a tour to New Zealand. He also directed episodes of Packed to the Rafters. His most recent project was Grey Gardens for The Production Company starring Pamela Rabe. His 2012 television credits include further blocks of Rafters and set up direction of the new Channel 7 series A Place to Call Home. Dana Jolly Choreographer Dana has worked with such artists as: The Kings; East 17; Cliff Richards; Madonna; Ray Charles; Oasis; Blur; Ewan McGregor; Robert Palmer; Gloria Estefan; Chris Isaaks; Harry Connick Jr; Take That; Wayne Sleep; Michael Ball; Elaine Page; Ronnie Corbett; Alexei Sayle; Punt & Dennis; Rowan Atkinson; Jim Davidson; Barry Otto; Bert Newton; Patti Newton; Rhonda Burchmore; Bud Tingwell; Judi Conelli; Reg Livermore; Nancye Hayes; Marina Prior; Peter Cousens; Phillip Gould; Matt Hetherington; Tom Burlinson; Marty Fields; Bob Downe; Tony Sheldon; Suzanne Johnstone, and; Enrique Iglesias. Dana s performing credits include: Royal Variety Performance; Song & Dance (the musical); The British Music Awards; The National Music Express Awards; East 17 World Tour; Cliff Richards Australian Tour; The Michael Ball Series (LWT); Mr. Bean (BBC); House of Elliot (BBC); Wella Hair Show, Japan; Wella Hair Show, London; The Bill (BBC); Halifax Building Society Commercials; Winter Olympics (Norway); Dickens and Jones Fashion Show; British Airways Catwalk Show; Top of the Pops; Good Morning TV (LWT); Stonewall Concert (Royal Albert Hall); Bernadette (the musical); Victorian State Opera; AIDA extravaganza (Princess Park); Hey Hey Its Saturday, Hollywood & Broadway (Musical), The Wayne Sleep Tour (UK) Union Dance Company (London), Souls in Motion Dance Company (London), and; Gypsy (Baby Louise). Peter Casey Musical Director Peter Casey is one of Australia s most versatile Musical Directors, having established a career spanning the genres of musical theatre, arena presentations, symphonic concerts, orchestration, television and recording. During the past years, Peter has been Musical Director for several major music theatre productions, including Les Miserables, The Sound of Music,

16 The King and I, The Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Cabaret, Smokey Joe s Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, Topol s Fiddler on the Roof, Stephen Sondheim s Company, Monty Python s Spamalot, Jekyll & Hyde, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals Evita, Cats, Aspects of Love, Song and Dance, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Production Company s productions of Sunset Boulevard, The Pajama Game, 42nd Street, Mame, Crazy For You, The King and I, Anything Goes and Kismet. He is currently Musical Director for the Gordon Frost Organisation Australian tour of the musical Annie, starring Anthony Warlow and Nancye Hayes. Peter was Musical Director for The New Mel Brooks Musical The Producers, for which he received a 2004 Green Room Award. He has also received Green Room Award nominations for Sunset Boulevard, Mame and Monty Python s Spamalot, and Helpmann Award nominations for The Producers and Company. He was Musical Supervisor for Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the 1998 Australian tour of Grease The Arena Spectacular, the Big Top touring productions of Cats Run Away to the Circus and Grease The Mega Musical, and for the current Australasian tour of A Chorus Line. In 1998, Peter was Musical Director for the acclaimed arena production The Main Event, starring Olivia Newton-John, Anthony Warlow and John Farnham, and in 1999 was associated with the Grand Opening of Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, as Musical Director for The Rodgers and Hammerstein Tribute, starring Shirley Jones and Hugh Jackman. He was Musical Director for Live Performance Australia s inaugural 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2006 Helpmann Awards, which honour distinguished artistic achievement and excellence within the Australian arts and entertainment industry. Through his passion for orchestration, Peter has worked extensively in South East Asia, co-composing and orchestrating several musical productions, operas and recordings in Singapore and Korea. He was Co-Composer and Orchestrator for ACOM International s epic Korean musical opera, The Last Empress, which toured to London, Los Angeles and New York, and ACOM s productions of Arang and The Winter Wanderer, and was Orchestrator for the musical drama Winter Sonata which toured Korea and Japan. In 2005, he was Orchestrator and Conductor for Hyungsuk Kim s score for the Korean film, Typhoon, which received nomination as Best Film at the rd Daejong Film Awards Festival. In 2009, Peter was Orchestrator for the Korean musical drama, Hero (Ahn Jung Geun), which toured Korea, and recently opened at The Lincoln Center, New York. Peter was honoured with the Best Orchestration Award for Hero at both the 4th Korea Musical Theatre Awards in June 2010, and the 16th Korea Musical Awards in October Peter has been Guest Conductor and Orchestrator for the West Australian Symphony, Adelaide Symphony and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. MATT SCOTT Lighting Designer Por the past 19 years Matt has worked as a lighting designer for almost all of Australia s leading performing arts companies. His most recent credits include Eat! Pray! Laugh! Barry Humphries Farewell tour 2012 for the Dainty Group, Don Giovanni for Oz Opera and An Officer and A Gentleman for the Gordon Frost Organisation and His Girl Friday for The Melbourne Theatre Company. His other credits for the Melbourne Theatre Company include Red, The Seed, Tribes, The Importance of Being Earnest, Clybourne Park, Rising Water, The Joy of Text, Next to Normal, A Behanding in Spokane, Don Parties On, Life Without Me, All About My Mother, Boston Marriage, The Ugly One, The Grenade, The Swimming Club, The Drowsy Chaperone, Godzone, God of Carnage, The Birthday Party, August: Osage County, Realism, Grace, The Hypocrite, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Blackbird, Scarlett O Hara at the Crimson Parrot, Frost/Nixon, Rock n Roll, Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Pillowman, Don s Party, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Tomfoolery, The Female of the Species, Festen, Doubt, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Dumb Show, Hitchcock Blonde, King Lear, The Sapphires, Urinetown, Blithe Spirit, The Blue Room and The Woman in the Window. His long association with Queensland Theatre Company spans over thirty-five productions, including Betrayal, Titus-Anatomy, Heroes, The Woman Before, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Christmas Carol, Oedipus the King, The Goat, Proof, The Venetian Twins, The Lonesome West, Phaedra, The Messiah, Buried Child, The Forest, The Sunshine Club and Radiance.. For Sydney Theatre Company his lighting commissions include The Grenade, Rock n Roll, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Urinetown, Doubt, Blithe Spirit, The Glass Menagerie, Morning Sacrifice and The Sunshine Club. He created the lighting for the multi-award-winning A Beautiful Life for Matrix Theatre, Kooemba Jdarra s The 7 Stages of Grieving and Playbox/Ilbijerri s Stolen. He has lit productions for Bell Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing, The Alchemist, As You Like it, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, The Merchant of Venice) Company B Belvoir (The Sapphires, Paul) and Playbox (Thieving Boy/Like Stars in My Hands, The Sick Room). He has lit many shows for The Production Company including Grey Gardens, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun, 42nd St, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Kiss Me Kate. Matt has worked for Opera Australia (La Sonambula, La Boheme), Victorian Opera (The Rake s Progress, Baroque Triple Bill, The Turn of the Screw, Xerxes, Orphee et Eurydice), New Zealand Opera (Xerxes) and Opera Queensland (La Boheme, Cinderella, Cosi fan tutte). His work for dance includes productions for Expressions Dance Company (Where the Heart is) and Queensland Ballet (Sync, Petrushka, Cloudland, Don Quixote, The Fold/Burning). He has received or been nominated for numerous awards, including a 2005 Helpmann Award for his lighting on Urinetown, which followed his 2003 Helpmann Award for The Blue Room.

17 TML Enterprises TML Enterprises is a theatrical producing house based in Melbourne, Australia servicing Australian and international territories with first class musicals and family entertainment. Founder and CEO Tim Lawson s theatrical career began as a performer. Having trained at The Scottish Ballet school, Tim emigrated to Australia, graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and went on to perform in such productions as How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Me and My Girl, Grease and Phantom of the Opera. As Executive Producer for Majestic Theatre Company, Tim s projects included Sweet Charity starring Kelley Abbey, the London Productions of Buddy The Musical, Jolson starring Rob Guest, Spirit of the Dance and Oh! What A Night starring Kathy Sledge. In 1998 Tim founded TML and produced the tours of Fiddler on the Roof starring Topol, developed and toured the parental comedy It s A Dad Thing! through Australia and South Africa, the world premiere of Weary The Life of Sir Edward Dunlop, Shout! The Musical starring Tim Campbell, Brave Men Run In Our Family and the international tours of Jekyll and Hyde starring Brad Little and The Rocky Horror Show narrated by Richard O Brien. The record breaking Le Grand Cirque productions and The Illusionists have been presented at the Sydney Opera House over 4 years and subsequently enjoy continual touring through Australia and internationally has already enjoyed sell out seasons of A Chorus Line in Adelaide, Sydney and Singapore, Adrenaline in South Africa and The Illusionists in Sydney, Singapore, Latin America and Mexico launching with 13 sell out arena shows in Mexico City alone. In October Le Noir The Dark Side of Cirque will premiere in Tokyo, A Chorus Line continues to Perth and Brisbane, the Australian premiere of Neil Fleming s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opens at the Capitol Theatre prior to a national tour, and The Illusionists returns to Australia for the summer season ahead of an extensive international tour.

18 This version of Chitty passes its theatrical MOT with literally flying colours. This is a fine, four-fendered fabulous night. In fact it s Chitty Chitty brilliant Independent, UK Daily Express, UK You hug yourself with excitement This one will fly and fly a winner Breathtaking Fresh, warm-hearted, thrillingly inventive: in a word, magical Big, joyful, enchanting show Show for all ages The Sunday Times, UK Remarkable The best Astonished delight The Guardian, UK Oh what a car! Hitty Hitty Bang Bang. A sure-fire hit Daily Mirror, UK

19 Crowd-pleasing success Delivers big in every department Eye-popping spectacle Lavish Assault on the senses Sheer opulence Spectacle in spades BBC, UK Smash hit Crowd-pleasing A delight The Telegraph, UK A pleasure for all ages Epic musical Dazzle Sheer theatrical magic The Evening Standard, UK Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is an amazing spectacle, with sets to take the breath away and high-tech wizardry that makes Harry Potter look pedestrian The Sun, UK

20 What is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang about? Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is about the enthralling adventure of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the magical car that sails the seas and flies through the air. It has been a family favourite since the original motion picture captivated the world s imagination in Chitty s eccentric inventor, Caractacus Potts, and his children, Jemima and Jeremy, join the truly scrumptious Truly Scrumptious and kooky Grandpa Potts in outwitting the dastardly Baron and Baroness of Vulgaria in their attempt to steal the flying car for themselves. What is the running time of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? Approximately two hours and 45 minutes, including an interval. Does the car really fly? Using cutting edge, hi-tech, modern machinery, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has been custom designed for this touring production. The elegantly crafted antique car uses this new technology to fly in this production. Is it the same as the film? The story is the same as the film. All the characters are there, the only difference is that the Vulgaria storyline isn t told as a dream, but an adventure. The story takes place in reality. Are all the songs in it? Yes, they are all included and the Sherman brothers have also written some new songs for the production. Is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang suitable for children? Yes! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a family-friendly show for children of all ages, but similar to many children s story villains, The Child Catcher might scare some children.

21 Nominated for three Olivier Awards, winning Best Musical at the 2002 Variety Awards, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was nominated for five Tony Awards on Broadway, winning the coveted 2006 Manchester Evening News Theatre Award for Best Family Show. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang became the longest running show in history of the Palladium, London after four years. The song Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was nominated for an Oscar in There are over 500 remarkable costumes and hats in this production. Empire magazine rated the film s The child Catcher scenes amongst the 100 most frightening ever filmed. It takes foot trucks to move the show in the UK. The film screenplay was written by prolific children s author Roald Dahl and the film s director Ken Hughes. Chitty and James Bond have more in common than just sharing Ian Fleming as their author. The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang film was produced by Albert R Broccoli, as were all the first 17 Bond films. Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q in the Bond films until his death in 2000, played the scrap dealer Coggins, and Gert Frobe was the villain Goldfinger as well as Baron Bomburst. Also, every Bond film features a car with some extra special built in gadgetry to help 007 in his quest. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang holds the Guinness World Record for the most expensive stage prop the car at 750,000. The Sherman brothers also wrote the songs for Disney s Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book as well as countless other films including The Slipper and the Rose. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was originally published as separate adventures in three separate volumes over 1964 and It was not published in a single volume in England until There is a Trivial Pursuit game card that asks Which British spy novelist wrote the children s story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?