The cast taking over March 16 will feature a returning Gary Wilmot as Caractacus Potts, with Tony Adams as Grandpa, Scarlett Strallen as Truly Scrumptious, Christopher Biggins as Baron Bomburst, Louise Gold as Baroness Bomburst and Lionel Blair as The Child Catcher. Speaking to Playbill On-Line, producer Michael Rose said that there had been no announcement yet, but that “the intention is definitely to go to Broadway, and spring 2005 does look like the time frame.”

Rose is confident that the show will do well in New York. “Based on the reactions from Americans who’ve seen the musical and been incredibly enthusiastic and positive, I have no doubt that it will be very popular on Broadway,” he said, adding, “Every American child seems to have heard of it. A friend of mine recently asked a class of school children in Atlanta how many had heard of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and every hand went up. Regardless of how well the movie did on its 1968 release, thanks to TV it’s now infiltrated every American home.”

No casting is yet in place, but Rose disclosed that “some quite large structural changes with some new material geared to the American market specifically” had been rehearsed by the new cast, and would be put in place in London. It is this new version of the show which will reach New York.