JUST 2 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL CHITTY CHITTY IS BACK WITH A BANG BANG!
Liverpool Empire Theatre Press Release JUST 2 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL CHITTY CHITTY IS BACK WITH A BANG BANG! The most fantasmagorical stage musical in the history of everything hits the Liverpool Empire in top gear in just two weeks time! With a cast, orchestra and crew of 100 (including ten dogs), sensational sets and stunning special effects, this action-packed adventure is the story of the magical car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts, and his two children Jeremy and Jemima, alongside Truly Scrumptious and Grandpa Potts, all try and outwit the dastardly Baron and the famously evil Childcatcher. Bursting with magical songs including Truly Scrumptious, Toot Sweets, Hushabye Mountain and the Oscar nominated title song, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the production has been nominated for three Olivier Awards, won Best Musical in the 2002 Variety Awards, been nominated for five Tony Awards on Broadway and won the coveted Manchester Evening New Theatre Award for Best Family Show in 2006. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opened at the London Palladium in 2002 to rave reviews and went on to break every box office record at the famous London theatre. It was the longest running show at the Palladium, beating Oliver! and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. During its three and a half year run, the family musical exceeded £70 million in box office revenue. The Chitty stage car holds the Guinness World Record for being the most expensive prop in the history of British Theatre. Chitty has at its heart two fundamental human desires….the desire to fly and the desire to protect one’s children, told through a magical journey. It is the story of love and adventure, of good and evil and of a family in search of something missing – all brought together by a fantasmagorical car! Chitty is directed by Adrian Noble, the former Artistic Director of the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company, with choreography by David Morgan (Sophisticated Ladies, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Singing in the Rain, Me and My Girl and High Society). The sensational sets and stunning special effects are designed by the award-winning designer Anthony Ward (Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady). This ravishing award-winning show is guaranteed to be the most exciting theatrical event of the year – don’t let it take off without you! Performance Details: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Liverpool Empire Theatre 29 June – 17 July Tickets: £14 – 38.50 To book visit the Liverpool Empire box office, call 0844 847 2525 or visit www.liverpoolempire.org.uk NOTES TO EDITORS Chitty Facts Howard Eaton Lighting built the car the cast sit in and Delstar Engineering and Stage Technologies built the parts for the engineering that makes it fly. ¾ of a million is the cost of the car. We don’t know the exact weight of the car and the parts but we imagine it to be tons and tons. Chitty is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive stage prop ever for the car. It took two companies and from planning to first performance the new mechanisms for the car took 9 months. The tour has cost 3 million to stage. It takes 12 x 45ft trucks to move the show in the UK. We have £500,000 worth of costumes on the show. We employ 100 people to move the show and set up ready for the new venue. There are 30 actors/dancers/singers, 46 children, 14 musicians, 30 technicians and 11 dogs and one flying car required to operate each performance.
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