Over the years, Ray Roderick has amassed an impressive résumé of one-of-a-kind projects. As the co-owner of Miracle or 2 Productions (Miracleor2.com), he has developed the new musicals Are We There Yet?, Coming to America and the upcoming Bikinis! For the past decade, Ray has been creative director for the Tennis Association’s U.S. Open, where he develops live, on-court events and directs the Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day for CBS. In August 2007, he was approached by a group of producers from London and New York who wanted to reintroduce James Bond author Ian Fleming’s classic children’s story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as a touring show to theatre audiences throughout America. Ray accepted the challenge, and we will be able to see the fruits of his labors when Chitty Chitty Bang Bang comes to Louisville in May as part of the PNC Broadway Across America – Louisville season.
SD: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had already played in
the West End of London and on Broadway when you were called in on the project.
Why did you feel that show wasn’t ready for the road?
RR: Because it is such a massive production. I’ve got a great deal
of touring experience from a creative perspective, so I was brought in
because I knew there was a way to do this. It took some rethinking and
reconceiving and even some rewriting. In August 2007, we had a big meeting
in London with Barbara Broccoli, who produces all the James Bond movies.
The people who handle the rights are very, very passionate about this story.
They liked what we were talking about and said, “Let’s make
this happen.” I’ve been working ever since to reconfigure the
show for the road.
SD: I was about seven when this movie came out in 1968
and I always wondered if the car really flew or if we were seeing inside
the children’s
imaginations. Does your version take a definite stance?
RR: We have a clear perspective – the car flies; it really does happen.
That’s the same take they had in the West End production and on Broadway
as well. I thought it was the right one because it was, in the movie, a
little vague. It’s such a great story and I think, as children, we
always believed that it was happening. So I said, “Why not go for
it? Why not make it an adventure that involves this family and this car?” That’s
the route we’ve taken with the show.
SD: The Sherman Brothers, who wrote the original film
score, have composed some new songs. How is the road version going to differ
from all those that have gone before?
RR: This version actually nods more to the movie. We want
to do our very best to get that movie on the stage. It’s such a brilliant movie
and there are iconic moments that the audience wants and expects, and we
want to try our best to give them those mo-ments. I could list what they
are for me, but I suspect they are pretty much the same for everyone who
loves the movie: “Oh, oh, oh, I know that one!” Of course,
we have to use our theatrical vocabulary to tell the story.
SD: One of those moments for me has to be the opening sequence.
RR: Yes, and that’s one of the big changes. We have launched the
show very differently in the touring version. We’ve taken one of
the new Sherman Brothers tunes and woven it together with the Chitty theme
and created a brand new opening number. One of the things I loved so much
about the movie was the opening. It opens with no dialogue, just an amazing
race from 1910 or whenever, with these giant race cars racing through the
countryside of Europe. It was so thrilling and so cinematic in Vista-Vision,
which was all new at the time. But after Chitty crashed, there wasn’t
a single bit of dialogue. The next thing you see is children playing in
a broken down car. It’s so interesting you mentioned the children’s
imaginations, because we open the show with two children playing in a broken
down car. They love and adore the car, which any kid would. Imagine playing
in an old race car – talk about the greatest playground ever!
SD: I always thought that it was the love the kids have for the car that
provides some of the magic that makes it fly.
RR: Exactly. And that’s the moment we see it – right at the
top of the show. They love this car. Why do they love it? Because it gives
them joy. It sparks their imaginations and gives them a chance to do something
that no other kid in the world would get to do at that point in time.
SD: I guess that’s right.
RR: It’s the Edwardian period, so the story takes place around 1912
to 1914, somewhere just prior to World War I. It would be like a rocket
ship crashing in your back-yard and you get to play in it. That’s
the joy we’re trying to bring right off the bat and let this show
come from the children’s imaginations. So it starts there and be-comes
real – a real adventure.
SD: And they’ve got the greatest Dad in the world. Dick Van Dyke
was perfect in the movie. Who have you cast?
RR: Someone who to me is very much in that tradition. Personally, and I
think a lot of people would agree, it’s the best thing Dick Van Dyke
ever did on film. I’ve cast a gentleman named Steve Wilson who is
about 6 feet 4 inches, lanky and kind of an everyman. He’s very much
in the spirit of Dick Van Dyke.
SD: You know, I always thought Caractacus was a made-up name so that it
would sound like “crack pot,” but there was actually a Roman
general by that name.
RR: I did the same thing! I had never heard of him until I started researching
this. But you know, it is Ian Fleming. Do you know how they decided to
make the movie?
SD: No.
RR: This is my understanding. They had begun to make the James Bond films,
and one evening while the Broccoli family and the Fleming family were having
dinner together, the children said, “You should make Chitty
Chitty Bang Bang into a movie.” From the mouths of babes.
SD: Absolutely.
RR: You know Barbara Broccoli, who now handles the entire estate, was in
the movie as a child. She was one of the orphans in the sewer scene. So
she holds this movie very near to her heart.
SD: So she was in there with Benny Hill?
RR: With Benny Hill!
SD: I had never heard of Benny Hill at that point and recognized him later
when I was watching the movie as an adult.
RR: The same thing happened to me.
SD: You know when the Child Catcher walks up to his shop window and does
a little dance and says “All free today” – that was one
of the scariest moments in film for me at that time.
RR: We added that scene. I love that scene so much I added it to this new
script. Barbara Broccoli was so excited I was doing it.
SD: He was terrifying.
RR: He is terrifying! You know when people list the scariest characters
ever, he’s always in the top ten.
SD: What else have you added?
RR: There’s another scene that involves the same actor who plays
the Child Catcher. In Act One of my show, he will play the Junk Man. This
scene wasn’t in the West End or Broadway productions, but he’s
the man who tells the children he’s going to buy the car for 30 shillings.
The children ask what he’s going to do with it and he says, “I’ll
tell you what we’re going to do with it. We’re going to smash
it down into one piece of metal and we’re going to melt her down
until she’s liquid iron…that’s what we’re going
to do!” He’s essentially going to kill the car. I think having
the same actor play both roles is great fun. I’m so excited about
bringing this story to the country.
SD: I was immediately excited when I saw this show was going on the road,
but there is a lot of show there to move every week.
RR: We’ve got nine dogs, including the family dog, Edison. And we’re
flying a car. Other than that, there’s very little that happens.
SD: Going back to the scene with the children – how are you going
to get that many kids on stage?
RR: We will be auditioning local children in Louisville. In every city
we go to, we will add six children. I auditioned in Fort Myers and it was
great fun. We had hundreds of children show up. There are such talented
kids all over the country that it’s very easy for us to make this
happen.
SD: You won’t have any problem finding talented
children in Louisville.
RR: I know it. I’ve got family in Louisville. My
brother and sister-in-law live there, so I may even get there to see the
show.
SD: You mentioned that your son Jamie is considering a
career as a lighting designer. You and your wife have both made careers
in theatre. Do you have any trepidation about him following this path?
RR: None at all. It’s a tough business and I’ve
warned him about that, but he is passionate. He loves it more than anything,
and I’m
so proud of him. He is a beautiful lighting designer – he does such
good work. I’m thrilled that he has something in his life that he
loves to do and that can give him a future. None of us know what the future
will be anyway. In some ways, I feel like those of us in show business
are better off now because we’re used to going from one job to another
and then finding our next one. I think it may be tougher for some folks
to adjust their lives to deal with whatever economic woes we’re faced
with now. We kind of accepted that going in.
SD: I have to ask about your all new award-winning Shamu show at Sea World
of San Diego. How do you choreograph a killer whale?
RR: I didn’t actually choreograph it. I spoke to the trainers, who
are amazing and wonderful and who have spent their lives learning about
and building relationships with these animals. I asked them what was possible
and then I put it together based on their vocabulary. It was about the
coolest job I’ve ever had. I feel really, really fortunate. I was
like a kid in a candy shop and had the best time ever. I’ll never
forget it. I love the trainers and
I love those whales. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
SD: Is that the most unusual job you’ve done?
RR: I get asked to lots of whacky things. I’m the creative director
at the U.S. Open, where I create these giant events for television. I’ve
got a show that’s running in Beijing right now called The
Legend of Kung Fu – it’s all martial artists. My résumé is
filled with these wild, unique adventures. I’ve kind of become the
guy people go to with projects that have no antecedents…which I’m
sort of doing again with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang runs May 5-10, 2009, in Whitney Hall
at The Kentucky Center. For tickets, call 502.584.7777 or go to broadwayacrossamerica.com/Louisville.
The next show of the season is Wicked, opening January 7, 2009.
For more production photos from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, go to theaudiencegroup.com.