Inside Arts

• Start spreading the news: Ten-year-old Ellen Marlow, a fifth-grader at Laurel Elementary in Round Rock, is headed to the Great White Way in early 2005 to star in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' at the Ford Theater. Marlow will play the lead role of Jemina, one of two children of inventor Caractacus Potts who makes a magical car that sails through the air. The show has been a hit since it opened in London in 2002. Marlow bested about 300 girls to land the role after her mother, Stacia, saw an open call for auditions online and decided it was time to take a chance at the big time. Marlow, a KidsActing student, was bitten by the musical bug after playing a munchkin last year in the Broadway Texas production of 'The Wizard of Oz.' Marlow will move to the Big Apple with her mother and 12-year-old brother, J.R., and father Steve will keep the Texas home fires burning. Marlow begins rehearsal Feb. 7. Previews of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' begin March 27; the show opens April 28. -- Jeanne Claire van Ryzin

• British pop artist and provocateur Derek Boshier will bring his '99 Cent War' to Iron Gate Studios on Nov. 5. The installation of war toys, purchased at a 99-cent store, is augmented with Boshier's drawings and paintings. '99 Cent War' continues through Nov. 18. Reception: 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 5. Gallery hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Iron Gate Studios, 2205 E. Fifth St., 495-9994, free. www.irongatestudios.org. Boshier will also lecture at 7 p.m. Nov. 4 at Austin Studios, 1901 E. 51st St. Admission is free. -- J.C.v.R.

• In a Houston ceremony, News 8 Austin was awarded a Lone Star Emmy Award for best public service announcement by the Texas chapter of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Awards Oct. 16. The cable channel's offbeat 30-second spot promoted an Andy Warhol exhibit at the Austin Museum of Art last year and featured award-winning local actress Karen Kuykendall as the white-haired high priest of Pop Art. -- J.C.v.R.