Tale #53: Almost Identical

VACT has long maintained the tradition of allowing participants to vote on shows for the upcoming seasons. A committee meets two seasons in advance to create a list of options for an all-ages summer show and an adults-only fall or winter show (depending on if it is a holiday show year or not). The committee narrows it down to two choices for each slot and then participants are able to vote at the annual meeting for the final winner.

While it used to solely be individuals standing in front of the crowd explaining what shows were about, my mom and I both felt the meetings could have a bit more pizazz. Therefore, in 2013 my mom staged a performance of “I Know It’s Today” using three performers from our youth program to present Shrek the Musical as an option for Summer 2015.

It was obviously selected.

By the fall of 2014, VACT had been operating for twenty-two years and had produced twenty-two all-ages summer shows. We had only done two repeats at that point: The Wizard of Oz and The Music Man. We weren’t opposed to repeats, we just wanted to keep things fresh with new shows.

However, all-ages shows were running in short supply. Broadway hits started to favor more mature themes to appease a changing audience (and smaller ensembles to appease budget-conscious producers).

The committee narrowed it down to two choices to present for the Summer 2016 slot: Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Mama Terry and I were tasked with staging the performances of both titles for the 2014 annual meeting. As we were doing our prep, we quickly realized something:

The shows were almost identical.

Both titles included:
– Original Music and Lyrics by Richard B. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.
– Two lead child roles: a boy and a girl.
– Two lead adult roles: a man and a woman.
– A plot where the children’s lives are improved by the introduction of an unrelated female character who sings about the joys of life.
– An adult male and adult female taking two children on (let’s be honest) rather dangerous adventures (dancing on rooftops and crossing borders) without any consideration for the children’s safety.
– A song about sugar.
– A dance number where a sort of stick must be featured (chimney sweeping brooms and bamboo).
– A set of quirky secondary characters who serve no purpose other than to create mayhem and sing songs that don’t drive the plot forward.

Last but not least, the big ticket similarity: The need to hire a professional flying company.

We knew Mary Poppins would have an edge because it is a more well-known Disney title. Besides that, we viewed it as a coin-flip because as I said, the shows were almost identical.

VACT performed Mary Poppins in June 2016 and performed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in June 2019.

The flying for both shows was truly an identical pain in the ass.