This week, Centrestage Cymru are flying into Newport’s Dolman Theatre aboard the legendary “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. It’s hard to believe that in 2018 the film celebrated its 50th anniversary but it continues to attract new audiences.
Featuring an unforgettable score by the Sherman Brothers and, although there are some new numbers, all those memorable songs from the film are lovingly brought to life including “Truly Scrumptious”, “Doll on a Music Box”, “Toot Sweet” and, of course, the tile song “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”
To celebrate, Centrestage Cymru’s exciting presentation, here are 12 fun facts about Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the only children’s book written by James Bond author Ian Fleming.
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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was based on two cars Fleming had driven – his own Standard Tourer and a customised Mercedes with a 23-litre 6-cyclinder Mayback aero-engine.
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The vehicle was named after the noise it made.
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The car for the first British stage production cost £750,000 to build and is listed in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive stage prop.
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Michael Ball played Caractacus Potts in the first production at the London Palladium in April 2002 with Truly Scrumptious played by Emma Williams.
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The song Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by the Sherman Brothers was nominated for a film Oscar. They wrote several new songs for the theatre version.
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The film, loosely based on the novel was made in 1968 starring Dick Van Dyke and with a screenplay written by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes.
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The car was designed by the film’s production designer Ken Adam and cartoonist Rowland Emett. Built in Hertfordshire in 1967, it was fitted with a Ford 3000 V6 engine and automatic transmission and allocated a genuine UK registration.
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Six cars were created for the film, including a fully functional road-going car with UK registration GEN 11 now owned by New Zealand film director Peter Jackson, who made The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
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The part of Truly Scrumptious in the film was originally offered to Julie Andrews which would have reunited her with Dick Van Dyke after their success in Mary Poppins. She turned it down.
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The movie’s title song was nominated for an Academy Award.
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One of the non-drivable Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cars went up for auction in 1973 in Florida and sold for $37,000. The prized drivable model sold for $805,000 in May 2011.
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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opens on Wednesday 20th November and runs until Saturday 23rd November 2019 at the Dolman Theatre, Newport. While Friday and Saturday performances are now sold out there are still limited tickets for Wednesday and Thursday performances available from http://www.dolmantheatre.co.uk