Carmel artist Scott Osborne was delighted when offered a chance to build a car for Carmel Apprentice Theatre’s presentation of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”
Osborne immediately called his childhood friend, who introduced him to the 1968 movie starring Dick Van Dyke.
“He was asking what I was going to do about the wings,” Osborne said. “It was just all fun from that point on. It was such a creative project when first built, and to replicate it was fun and exciting. I was honored they picked me to do it and I had a blast.”
Carmel Apprentice Theatre’s production of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” begins Nov. 3 and runs through Nov. 19 at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel.
Osborne was assisted by the musical’s director Will Wood and Ashley Larkin, who is managing director of The Cat.
“I had fantastic help from The Cat,” Osborne said. “You need more than one set of hands to build a car.”
Osborne said Gary Coburn put in a lot of hours helping build the show’s magical car. Others who assisted were Kellyn Johnson, Brittany Achard and Bradon Gibbs.
Osborne said the car ended up being 10 feet long. The original car from the movie was 18 feet.
“The coolest part of the car is I used a wheelchair as the driving force,” Osborne said. “The car, when it’s not on the stage, can spin on a 360 (degree) axis. My favorite thing is the steering wheel does nothing and the whole thing is driven on a joystick. The male actor is holding the steering wheel pretending to drive while the female actor is steering and driving the car (with a joystick the audience can’t see).”
Osborne said they put a fog machine in the front that funnels air to come out of the radiator.
Osborne said the car took about five months to build.
“Gary made a platform that was level with the stage,” Osborne said. “They brought it to Brown Hound Studios and I built it on the platform to make sure it would fit.”
Osborne said they drive the car off the stage, open the back door and turn the car around outside. They then push the platform back on stage.
“We call it a portable parking spot,” Osborne said. “It was a great addition. There were so many fun elements about this thing. Everything is completely electric. There are about seven or eight motors in there.”
Osborne said the car holds approximately 1,200 pounds. The wheelchair sits in the middle of the car.
“They plan to lease the car out to other theater companies,” Osborne said. “Before they hired me, they did their research on how they can rent the car.”
Evan Wang is cast as inventor Caractacus Potts in the production.
“One thing I love about this show in particular is how we have been able to give children so many unique roles and ways to shine on stage at an early age,” Wang said.
Brook-Glen Gober, Noblesville, plays Truly Scrumptious.
“A magical moment for me has been seeing people who have never done theater before come alive on our stage and there is no other perfect show to do that than the magical ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,’” Gober said.
For more, visit thecat.biz.
