Starting this weekend, the Kenai Performers will be putting on a production of the “most fantasmagorical stage musical in the history of everything.”
For their annual musical performance, Kenai’s local community theater group will be performing “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” a stage musical based on the classic 1968 film starring Dick Van Dyke.
As the tagline suggests, the musical is a fantastical story about an eccentric English inventor, Caractacus Potts, who fixes up a magical car and travels to the fictional country of Vulgaria with his two kids, Jeremy and Jemima, and Truly Scrumptious, the wealthy heiress to her family’s candy company. Raleigh Van Natta plays the role of Caractacus, while his kids are played by Jackson Hooper and Truly Hondel — not to be confused with the character, Truly Scrumptious, who is played by Selia Butler.
Terri Zopf-Schoessler, the director and choreographer of the production, said on Wednesday during dress rehearsal that the musical is shaping up to be one of their most extravagant productions yet and is the result of thousands of volunteer hours. For the first time, Zopf-Schoessler said, the musical will use both a revolving stage and screen projections to help establish the setting for each scene.
The 12-foot revolving stage is used to feature the titular car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and to slowly rotate it on stage to give the impression of movement as it travels from place to place. The car was built by Zopf-Schoessler’s husband, Steve, who is the shop teacher at Kenai Middle School and worked until well past midnight on Tuesday to get it finished.
“Every time we do a show, our families get roped into it,” Zopf-Schoessler said, adding that her husband also built a car for their production of “Grease” and a giant man-eating plant for their production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”
The screen projections came from the same company that distributes the rights to the musical itself and paint a vivid picture of every scene in the show, from the town square in Vulgaria to Coggins’ Garage to the Potts Family Home.
Rusty Singleton, who is running the lights in the booth for the production, said that with all the added layers the people in the booth have a lot of work cut out for them. Singleton said that there are many scenes in which different-colored lights are used to distinguish between different locations, such as when the main spotlight fades away from the ensemble center stage and the two hapless Vulgarian spies, Boris and Goran, are lit by an ominous blue light on the edge of the stage as they plot how to steal the car away from the Potts family.
“You have to be right on the ball, or else it won’t work,” Singleton said.
The production features 44 actors and 12 crew members working backstage, Zopf-Schoessler said, which makes it one of the bigger productions that the group has done.
The actors are an even mix of newcomers and veterans, with about half of them joining the Kenai Performers for the first time. Co-director Donna Shirmberg, who is a longtime member of the Kenai Performers, said that she enjoyed working with the new talent and the different perspectives that they brought to the table.
“We have such an eclectic group of people from every occupation,” Shirmberg said. “We have lawyers, we have therapists, we have teachers, and I think when you put all those people together and they find a common goal, magic happens.”
Shirmberg, in addition to being the co-director, also plays the role of Mrs. MacGregor, whose purchase of one of Potts’ inventions allows him to buy Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from Coggins the mechanic.
Joining Shirmberg onstage will be Macy Arbizo and Janet Phillips, who are both making their debut with the Kenai Performers Friday night.
Arbizo was in the choir while she attended Kenai Central High School and was encouraged by one of her friends to try out who is also in the show. Phillips, on the other hand, said that she saw a Facebook post about the auditions back in September and decided to give it a shot because “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was one of her favorite films as a child.
“It’s been amazing,” Arbizo said of being in the musical. “With community theater you really build friendships and ties with these people. I’ve made a lot of friends here.”
Phillips said that while the countless hours of rehearsal can be exhausting, the things she’s learned and the bonds she’s formed through the course of the show have made it all worth it.
“I had a lot to learn, and I learned a lot,” Phillips said. “To learn all the things that we did would cost hundreds of dollars, from Rosemary (Bird) teaching us how to sing and then learning how to act from our director and working as a team. An absolute wonderful education.”
Phillips said that anyone considering auditioning for the next show should ignore their nerves and take the leap, because even though she was a newcomer she was quickly welcomed by those with more experience.
“Just do it!” Phillips said. “When I first walked into that first practice, I felt so alone. I didn’t know anybody. But they’re awesome people. They’re wonderful, intelligent, smart and musically inclined. You might feel alone, and maybe a little bit afraid or like you have no talent, but you will learn it. You will absolutely learn it.”
Arbizo and Phillips are both part of the ensembles for the big song-and-dance numbers, and Phillips also plays the role of the Commodore of Vulgaria, who helps the Baron and Baronness Bomburst carry out their nefarious plots.
The Kenai Performers will be performing “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium at Kenai High school for two weekends. Ticket prices are $26 for general admission and $21 for students, seniors and members of the military.
The show times are as follows:
Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 29 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m.
Tickets are available at the door, at River City Books in Soldotna, and online at kenaiperformers.org. Call 907-252-6808 for more information.
photos by Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion Jackson Hooper (back left), Raleigh Van Natta (front left), Truly Hondel and Selia Butler, front right, perform in the Kenai Performers production of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in the Kenai Central High School auditorium in Kenai on Wednesday.
