Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at CPT

I have a distinct memory of watching the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with my sisters at one of the PTA summer movies when I was in elementary school (do they still have this program at elementary schools?) so I thought it would be fun to see it performed by CenterPoint Theatre last night. It was just delightful! The Potts children, Jeremy (Preston Spencer) and Jemima (Kaylee Call), love playing with their favorite car, which happened to win the Grand Prix back in the day, at a junk yard. When it is sold for scrap metal they beg their father, an eccentric inventor named Caractacus Potts (Ryan Zaugg), to buy it instead. Caractacus raises the money through a series of inventions such as a candy making machine and a hair cutting machine. He restores the car and, renaming it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, takes the children and Truly Scrumptious (Alisa Woodbrey) to the seaside for a picnic where they discover that the car can float and fly. Two Vulgarian spies (Clark Bullen and Kannon Servoss) see this and want to steal it for the Baron and Baroness Bomburst (Mark Gurney and Jessica Love, respectively) who love toys. They kidnap Grandpa Potts (David Nielsen) so the family take Chitty to Vulgaria to rescue him and banish the Baron and Baroness. This production is not quite as polished as some of the others I have seen at CPT but the reason why I like community theatre is because it is so quirky. Everyone involved gave it their all and there were several highlights. Spencer and Call are adorable as the Potts children, especially in "Truly Scrumptious." I also really enjoyed the children's ensemble and "Teamwork" is definitely the best of the big song and dance numbers. Bullen and Servoss are hilarious as the Vulgarian spies and I loved watching their facial expressions and their physical comedy. The set pieces are a lot of fun, particularly the breakfast making machine, and it is really clever how they are able to make Chitty fly! However, the very best part of this show is Zaugg's performance as Caractacus because he has a lovely voice. The songs "You Too" and "Hushabye Mountain" are absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed this show and I recommend it, especially for children (go here for information and tickets).