Now this isn't going to be the "coolest" blog entry i have ever done or the most wide reaching in terms of appeal, but.... i went to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang last night and wanted to tell you guys what i thought of it...
A good family musical needs several ingredients - some stomping show tune numbers, far too cute kids, a baddie to boo at, some good solid adult humour that will fly above the kids heads, a bit of a love story and some comedy villains. And of course chitty had all that in spades. We were on row A right in the centre, so our seats couldn't have been better and I really enjoyed it from start to finish...Best bits?
- not being able to stop smiling when the song Chitty Chitty Bang bang came on...
- the baron and baroness of volgaria admitting they used "toys" in their marriage ;)
- Goran and Boris becoming Doris and Gordon as their British disguise, then referencing the surprisingly family -unfriendly Sticky Vicky (if you've ever been to Benidorm, you'll know what I mean)
- Trying to spot which of the ensemble were fancy nancy west end wendies (most of them!)
- Being a sucker for a love story, i couldn't help but be moved when Truly and Caractacus sang Doll On A Music Box/Truly Scrumptious and realised their love for each other. Darren, i'm sure, was quite rightly mortified...
- Booing at the actually very creepy and scary child catcher, whose voice echoed around the theatre...hisssssss
- Kind of getting carried away with the brilliance of it all and the infectious enthusiasm of the kids when the car actually did fly. No it really did - it was magic :)
So all in all, a great night out - and chitty is now up there with my other fave family friendly stage productions: Beauty And The Beast (still an all time fave) and the london production of Mary Poppins...
Other Musical Bits:
Booked tickets for dazpantomime (new name!) to go and see Daddy Cool together in London in September - starring Javine! And harvey from so solid crew! And that bird that shafted Ian Beale for Wicksy in Eastenders... Christ on a bike!
And one week after that (colour me green with obsession) is Wicked - which I just cannot wait to see. Honestly, i know this is going to sound crazy, but i know this is going to top B&TB as my fave musical of all time - i just adore the book and love the broadway soundtrack so can't wait to see the bound to be terrif London version. Above is a pic of Idina Menzel, Adam Garcia and Helen Dallimore in rehearsals. Reportedly Idina is getting £50k a week for this role!! I can't help but feel she has completely nailed the character of Elphaba though. here is a bootleg of her accompanied by just a piano singing Defying Gravity. Some might not like her shouty voice at the end, but the song still gives me chills and the piano in this is just gorgeous...
MP3: Idina Menzel - Defying Gravity
Other Non-Musical Bits:
Good god - log onto any blog right about now and they are all expostulating over their keyboards for the new Can't Get Enough of that Wonderful Hilary Duff song Playing With Fire...Now i kind of like the duffster, but she has made BAD singles choices in the past (Fly instead of Haters or The Math? Purlease...). This is a good choice, though I can't help but feel it sounds somewhat like a Rachel Stevens album track. And that's not a bad thing because she did have Crazy Boys on her last album... on the very off chance you haven't heard it, here it is...
MP3: Hilary Duff - Playing With Fire
And finally, here is a great version of Kiss The Girl from the classic Disney movie The Little Mermaid sung by Ashley Tisdale (thanks to Jess) . This is finally being released on dvd later this year and I can't wait. And mercifully this version has erased from my memory the dreadful Part Of This World Jessica Simpson butchered a few years back...
MP3: Ashley Tisdale - Kiss The Girl
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Where's d'luv for coining the new monicker "Dazpantomime?" That's it, I'm trademarking it!
Oh, and I've got a new one for you:
DazPanic!AtTheDisco.
This wasn't the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Sir Jason Donovan, was it?
btw - i was so in love with jason d circa 1989-1990...sigh. what happened??
oops totally couldn't remember where dazpantomime came from. my bad!
Daz!!PAnic!Atthedisco may be going a step too far though ;)
Now I just have to say oh my god we are going to drown at V!! How did the weather forecast manage to change overnight, from brightening up and being nice at the weekend to thunder storms and much rain!?!?! The bands better be worth it! ;)
JUST HOW DID THAT CAR FLY????
No wires, nothing. It was magic. When I was there for the matinee everyone spontaneously clapped with the theme tune T'was ace.
I hope the weather is ok for V
ps Vote Aisleyne...
Did Idina Menzel originate the role of Elphaba? I thought I remembered hearing that at some point...if so, it should be amazing!
I think you are at V as I type this!