Technical mishaps cannot stop fun of ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’

Everyone’s favorite fanciful car takes flight at Spring Mountain Ranch during Super Summer Theatre and P.S. Production’s fantastical presentation of Ian Fleming’s “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”

Chitty doesn’t literally fly, mind you. You do need to let your imagination soar, easy to do when the magical machine is brought to life in this dreamlike show, adroitly and briskly directed by Phil Shelburne. Despite numerous technical mishaps during Thursday night’s performance, the production retained an endearingly evocative feel for children and adults alike through superb performances and visual effects.

Much like the 1968 movie musical set in the 1910s, the stage show, adapted by Jeremy Sams, is loosely based on Ian Fleming’s novel but retains the flair of co-screenwriter and author Roald Dahl, whose children’s stories tend toward the macabre. Truly Scrumptious, the Childcatcher and Vulgaria are his creations, but the darkness of the film with its parallels to World War II are glossed over, giving it a mostly cheerful feel. And the original sometimes cheesy but memorable songs of brothers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman remain, supplemented by a few of their new compositions.

The characters mirror their film counterparts. Eccentric inventor and widowed father Caractacus Potts (Shaun Parry) is a warm and affectionate dad to his two kids, Jemima (Lily Wolfe) and Jeremy (Christopher Convery). Their unique family finds loving expression in Parry’s moving ballad “Hushabye Mountain” and their harmonious trio “You Two,” and is completed by their wacky Grandpa Potts (Garry Douglas).

Parry is a gentle, humble Caractacus, but he could use a touch more pride, especially when he awkwardly woos the aristocratic Truly Scrumptious (Gail Bennett), by giving more fire to their bickering banter. But their courtship dance duet “Doll on a Music Box,” which places mechanical doll Truly on a pedestal in contrast to the floppy rag doll of Caractacus singing his counterpoint song “Truly Scrumptious,” is a terrific moment that displays the considerable talents of both Bennett and Parry and lives up to its iconic scene in the film.

The dolls are a birthday gift for Vulgaria’s childlike Baron Bomburst (Joe Hynes), given to him by his child-hating wife the Baroness Bomburst (Kelli Oster Andino). Their duet “Chu-Chi Face,” is a wonderfully comical waltz that highlights their veiled hatred for each other, and along with the bumbling Vulgarian spies Boris (Scott Gibson-Uebele) and Goran (Brian Hardy) in their song “Act English,” gives the show much humor and slapstick.

And then there’s the villainous Childcatcher (Don Leonard), that archetypal child predator who through the movie sends a shiver down many a kid’s spine, inducing a lifetime of nightmares.

Perfectly creepy, Leonard takes the visage of a goblin, with huge, pointy ears and long hooked nose, all the better to smell the “kiddie-winkies” who hide out in the green subterranean sewers.

Tracey Corea’s choreography is exceptional throughout and a pleasure to watch. She re-imagines familiar favorites such as the Morris dance “Me ‘Ol Bamboo,” with its rhythmic step dancing and intricate figures, and “Toot Sweets,” the elaborate candy factory ensemble performed by her classically trained dancers.

The scenic design by Gregory Crane mutes and simplifies the steampunk look of the movie, using representational cogs and gears and minimalist set pieces that performers often seamlessly roll on and offstage as they perform. The lighting design of Erika Courtney features pastel colors and moody effects enveloped in theatrical haze, and includes a backdrop cyclorama photo of a marshmallow-cloud blue sky. Costumes by Jerome Bourdin and Judy Ryerson are appropriately Edwardian, with rainbow-colored, surreal touches.

Fly yourselves out to the meadow tout de suite and catch this enjoyable show.