A musical based on a British film nearly 50 years old will be mounted by a Coquitlam theatre company next month.
Align Entertainment will present Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby — its third production to follow The Addams Family last year.
Since it formed, Align — under the direction of Tri-City residents Patti Volk (producer), Melissa Turpin (choreographer) and Brent Hughes (music director) as well as Chad Matchette (director) of Coquitlam’s Lindbjerg Academy of the Performing Arts — has been applauded for its innovative work.
Its inaugural show, Shrek: The Musical, took the 2015 Ovation Award for Outstanding Community Production - Large Theatre while, this Sunday, it’s nominated in the same category for Addams.
Turpin, who has choreographed all three productions, said Align feels like a family.
“There’s a very positive energy,” the Coquitlam resident said, “and it’s great to be part of something where everybody is working toward the same goal with the same amount of effort.”
Chitty was announced as the 2016 production at the opening night of Addams last year and, since then, Turpin has been busy researching the English-style steps for the 35 or so cast members.
Auditions were held last June and, over the summer, she, Matchette and Hughes brainstormed on the vision. By November, when rehearsals got underway, many more details had to be ironed out with the actors, sets and costumes.
A dance teacher at Lindbjerg, Turpin also had to factor in the number of props used for the Chitty routines such as bamboo sticks and sweets (for the song Toot Sweets). But, for the most part, she tried to stay true to the sentiment of the beloved family favourite.
The choreography is a way to move the storyline along, she said. “I look at, What is the song trying to convey? Why is the number where it is? And what’s happening at that point in time? I want to have fun but I also want the audience to understand there’s a purpose to the dancing.”
Her husband, Mark Turpin, is also on stage as the evil Baron Bomburst, a kind of comedic villain in the fictional town of Vulgaria. “He’s really a child at heart: Selfish and self-centred and very immature,” he said.
(Mark Turpin also played the bad boy the last time he performed. In 2013, he portrayed Jud Fry in Royal City Musical Theatre’s Oklahoma.)
A drama and English teacher at Delview secondary in Delta, Turpin said he also enjoys being part of the rich theatre Align offers. Chitty isn’t seen regularly on the west coast of Canada and, when it is shown, it’s typically without the flying car.
For Align’s musical, however, they’ve made it happen.
Audiences will also love the score, he said. When the film came out in 1968 with Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious, the songs instantly became part of the musical theatre catalogue.
“The Sherman Brothers also wrote the Mary Poppins’ tunes so they’re very memorable,” Turpin said, adding, “People will be tapping their toes and singing along.”
Also in the cast are Tri-City residents Joanna Kovats, Aaron Stewart, Connor Briggs, Ryan Purdy, Joe Porter, Jaime MacLean, Alexa Graf, Jillian Perkins, Julia MacLean, Dawson Vogt and Gracen Dickey.
As well, Port Moody’s Philomena Sondergaard is stage manager.
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang runs Feb. 5 to 20 at the Michael J. Fox Theatre (7373 MacPherson Ave., Burnaby). Tickets are $37.50/$25 via alignentertainment.ca (tickets are $15 on Family Day Feb. 8 as are school matinees on Feb. 12 and 18).
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