Talented portrayals, memorable music - and one very cool car PT0M59S http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2xu43 620 349 November 20, 2013 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has been described as "James Bond meets Mary Poppins," and it's an apt representation. The production that opened at the Lyric Theatre QPAC on Thursday night is full of mad inventions, spies, loveable children, a female character with a suggestive name (Truly Scrumptious), and one hell of a cool car. Overall Chitty Chitty Bang Bang isn't as strong a musical as Mary Poppins, but it contains more outstanding character moments and songs, brought to life by a talented cast. And that car really is super cool. Author Ian Fleming wrote the children's story, showcasing the same love of cars as his renowned books devoted to the exploits of the British spy with the licence to kill, James Bond. The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang story is simple - eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts manages to scrape enough money together to buy a rusting former racing car for his apple-cheeked children, Jemima and Jeremy. He restores it to much more than its former glory, meeting and falling in love with sweetshop heir Truly Scrumptious along the way. However, the car is also the lust object of Baron Bomburst of Vulgaria, who deploys his spies to try to capture it. Eventually everyone ends up in Vulgaria, a place where children have been outlawed and rounded up by the creepy Child Catcher. Toot sweets... David Hobson, Rachael Beck and Shane Bourne star in the candy-coloured children's favourite Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. When Jeremy and Jemima are captured, can Caractacus, Truly and the really cool car save the day? Well, of course they do, but as always with musicals it's about the journey not the destination. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang starts fairly slowly in comparison to most musicals. It is only when a pack of dogs is sent running after the comic relief Vulgarian spies Goran and Boris about halfway through the first act that the audience seems to really lift. Luckily that is followed by a rip-roaring version of Me Ol' Bamboo, giving lead David Hobson and the ensemble a chance to show off their enviable Morris dancing skills, and then the revelation of the upgraded Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The eventual revelation of the car's ability to fly was greeted with absolute glee by the opening night audience. It really is a technical wonder, and you can see all of its $1.2 million price tag - the most expensive prop in musical theatre history. Hobson and Rachael Beck make fine leads; Hobson lets his beautiful tenor soar on numbers such as Hushabye Mountain, while Beck shines during Lovely, Lonely Man. Their duet on Doll on a Music Box is the most touching song in the show. George Kapiniaris and Todd Goddard as the Vulgarian spies are a classic double act; their treatise on how to avoid revealing their Vulgarian origins, Act English, is perfectly executed. Shane Bourne is a delight as the self-centred Baron Bomburst; he dropped his quasi-German accent a few times but in all honesty, it would have been as much fun to see him play the role in his own distinctive laconic voice. Jennifer Vuletic as the baroness is the standout of the show; she is simply marvellous in voice and character. Chu-chi Face plus the introduction of Tyler Coppin as the fearsome Child Catcher help make the second act far more dynamic. Special mention must go to the Queensland children who play the Potts children. They're big roles and Emma Cobb and Jayden McGinlay excelled themselves. Campbell MacCorquodale and Sophie Moman will alternate in the roles. Another dozen Queensland kids make up the Vulgarian outlawed children's cohort, and they're such impish urchins you just want to hug them. There were plenty of children in the audience too, and this is very much a family show (although the spies and the baroness throw in some great adults-only jokes). No doubt the cost of tickets will influence whether families get along during the five-week season but it would be a rewarding one for the littlies - and maybe the not-so-littlies.