Chitty Chitty bye bye

After more than three years, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has run out of gas in the West End. Its last performance at the London Palladium will be on 4 September before the £6.2million musical embarks on a national tour.

The show was an instant success when it opened in April 2002, being described by the Evening Standard's Nicholas de Jongh as "sheer theatrical magic". It has since been seen by more than three million people and taken more than £70million at the box office.

Though ticket sales have slowed of late, Chitty has had the longest-ever run at the Palladium - the West End's largest theatre - and has broken all records at the 2,300-seat venue, bringing in its highest-ever weekly take of £615,000. Advance bookings for the first leg of its tour, in Sunderland in December, have already topped £1 million.

"We are closing at the Palladium for a simple reason: it makes better economic sense to go on the road," said co-producer Michael Rose. "We want to take it out while we're still on a high."

But a box-office spokesman said latenotice bookings could be taken, even for big groups such as a party of 30. "We have lots of tickets for all times and prices," he said.

Two factors influenced the closure decision: Chitty recently opened on Broadway with great success and the West End arrivals of Billy Elliot and Mary Poppins have eclipsed it as the hottest ticket for young musical lovers.

Based on a story by Ian Fleming, it has starred Michael Ball, Jason Donovan, Jerry Hall, Paul O'Grady and Alvin Stardust.

The closure means the Palladium in Argyll Street, owned by Lord Lloyd-Webber, is available from the beginning of next year after Tommy Steele enjoys a brief run over Christmas.

The £8 million musical The Lord Of The Rings is a possible long-term replacement but is unlikely to be ready until the end of next year.

But a revamped Chitty may well fly back into London after a spell on the road. The Broadway version of the show, Rose says, is "even sharper, tighter and wittier than the original."