Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

[mikewood]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#0

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:08am

Due to ESLGR8's kindness, I witnessed Chitty from absolutely fabulous seats. I never saw the movie, but I realized with the Disneyesque merchandising when going into the show just how kid oriented the show was (especially with the literal busload of little tykes clown carring into the theater as I waited to go in.) I also had a "Hey, that woman looks like Vanessa Williams....no, that woman IS Vanessa Williams" moment as she brought her kids (I assume they were hers.) to the show.

AS for the show itself, believe the hype. This show raises the bar on spectactular special effects. The performances of the actors were almost secondary, but all were charming and solid.

It was worth seeing just for Chitty alone, but I certainly enjoyed myself.

Sorry for the popcorn review, but this isn't exactly a show you get all analytical about!

BLAH BLAH BLAH

Updated On: 6/23/05 at 09:08 AM

[arishmoof]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#1

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:15am

"Sorry for the popcorn review, but this isn't exactly a show you get all analytical about!"

and thats just the way it SHOULD be! Chitty was wonderful. from a design point of view, the show is beautiful, (the windmill set at night is my favorite with the purple gobo) the way they played with perspective in the backdrops was innovative, as was their solution for the flying car (IT FLIES!!!) i grew up watching the movie as a kid and i felt like a kid again when i went to see the show. its great.

you may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have

[luvtheEmcee]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#2

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:17am

What'd you think of Raúl? (Because I need validation in thinking he's fabulous.)

A work of art is an invitation to love.

[arishmoof]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#3

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:43am

i loved him, i think he has such a beautiful voice. he was funny too, the only thing was hes not much of a dancer, and seeing as how caractacus was originally Dick van Dyke there is a lot of dancing in the role, so i sort of missed that. i thought he was great. he sang "hushaby island" beautifully...

you may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have

[mikewood]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#4

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:45am

Raul was excellent, especially with the kids. He and Erin Dilly didn't exactly light up the stage with chemistry. I don't really think I would venture into the realm of "fabulous" personally but very, very good.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

[luvtheEmcee]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#5

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:46am

"Hushabye Mountain," but that's my favorite part of the show, simply because I could listen to that vibrato all day. No one can come close to Dick Van Dyke, but I'm pretty impressed by the dancing Raúl's pulling off, and it's getting better. And I'm really glad you thought he was funny, because when I've been, the audience shows very little love for his sense of humor.

A work of art is an invitation to love.

[arishmoof]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#6

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:47am

true about the chemistry part- but i sort of get that vibe from erin dilly in general- she puts on "performance face" and i would imagine its hard to break through that. raul is much more relaxed on stage.

you may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have

[arishmoof]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#7

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:51am

mountain...right. yea it was definitely the highlight, music-wise. i thought he was very funny, its subtle though, the way he plays it, and people expect sight-gags cause thats the dick van dyke way.

you may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have

[mikewood]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#8

Posted: 6/23/05 at 9:59am

Now, that I think about it, I got the "lack of chemistry " vibe from Erin in the South Pacific tour as well, but I passed it off as Michael Nouri being to old for her.

BLAH BLAH BLAH

[LucilleAndLeoFrank]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#9

Posted: 6/23/05 at 11:29am

I'm considering rushing it tonight. Does anybody know if there are any scheduled absences for this evening's performance?

[arishmoof]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#10

Posted: 6/23/05 at 11:43am

yeah, i mean dont get me wrong shes a great performer, but theres something missing, in the way she interacts with the other actors, particularly raul. hes giving her the chemistry but shes not sending it back. some actors do that, also without the reprise of hushabye mountain from the movie, theres not much of a chance for them to interact on a personal level. and they cut the "oh what a love" song (thank goodness, awful song) so basically almost the entire love plot was taken out anyway

you may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have

[ken8631]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#11

Posted: 6/23/05 at 1:09pm

Looks like Chitty had the 4th most attenders last week!

And isn't Raul SUPPOSED to dance kinda badly in the one scene since he's trying to hide from someone and attempting to "blend in" with the dancers, and not actually BE one?

[kec]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#12

Posted: 6/23/05 at 2:27pm

"And isn't Raul SUPPOSED to dance kinda badly in the one scene since he's trying to hide from someone and attempting to "blend in" with the dancers, and not actually BE one? "

Yes, exactly. He's trying to hide from the victim of his hair cutting machine, and ended up part of the dance troup by accident.

[ken8631]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#13

Posted: 6/23/05 at 3:40pm

So it's not that Raul is a bad dancer, he's just ACTING like one....

[kec]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#14

Posted: 6/23/05 at 4:30pm

Yes . Dick Van Dyke did the same in the film.

[luvtheEmcee]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#15

Posted: 6/23/05 at 6:04pm

I've noticed the same with the chemistry, but it is getting better.

As for the dancing, he's certainly no Dick Van Dyke, but you need to be a decent enough dancer to make yourself *look* like a bad one. He's got a lot of rhythm, and I was pretty impressed with his dancing. I love him, but wasn't sure he'd be so great.

A work of art is an invitation to love.

[arishmoof]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#16

Posted: 6/23/05 at 6:09pm

"you need to be a decent enough dancer to make yourself *look* like a bad one."
true, but the steps in the movie were more complicated to begin with, thats all im saying. and the truly scrumptious reprise where he does the puppet act was originally one of my favorite parts, but here its not as impressive. it was still very cute. Raul made up for his dancing with his beautiful singing and acting!

you may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have

[luvtheEmcee]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#17

Posted: 6/23/05 at 6:11pm

Of course they were more complicated in the movie; it was Dick Van Dyke!

A work of art is an invitation to love.

[jo]

re: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang#18

Posted: 6/23/05 at 7:36pm

Plus you can re-shoot the scene over and over again when filming a movie. I understand that it took almost a week to film the Me Ol' Bamboo in the movie version.