"Mary Poppins" was directed by Richard Eyre, saw its Broadway debut in 2006. I must admit that I was skeptical. The only Disney musical that had enthralled me before Mary Poppins was "The Lion King," and that was mainly because of Julie Taymore's genius, not the good folks' genius at Disney. However, I liked it very much. I think they succeeded in transferring the magic of the film onto the stage. At first, I thought Bert, played Gavin Lee, paled in comparison to Dick Van Dyke, but, by the end of the show, I liked him every bit as much. Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins was also wonderful. Nobody looked as radiant and sang with as lovely as soprano as the young Julie Andrews, but Brown is very good. It was a pleasant surprise to me that one of my favorites, Rebecca Luker, played Mrs. Banks. At forty, she looks thirty, is gorgeous and has a soprano very close to the young Julie Andrews. As a matter of fact, ten years ago, she would have made a great Mary Poppins. There is at least one song when Mrs. Banks echoes what Mary is singing, and Luker's voice is prettier than Brown's.
The staging was wonderful. A friend who saw it in London told me that the tuppance song, "Feed The Birds," was staged better than in the film. It is. I haven't seen the film in forty years, so I don't remember the context of the song, but in the musical, it helps Mary to cure the children of their snobbism and to teach them kindness and charity. It's very touching.
The show also has a couple of dark numbers, one in which the toys in the children's bedroom come alive and sing rather menacingly, "Temper, Temper," and another, "Brimstone and Treacle," (think evil potion), sung by Mr. Bank's nanny, a stock Disney character of evil who looks like a cross between Cruella Deville and Maleficent, the evil fairy in Sleeping Beauty. Apparently, the stories are darker than the Disney film, and these two songs are truer to the spirit of P.L. Travers' original tales than the film. Despite her song, "Practically Perfect," Mary Poppins is not all sugar and spice. She can be a firm task master, she's a little too sure of herself, and she comes and goes "as the wind changes," apparently indifferent with regard to whom she hurts in doing so.
There is one number alone, which is (almost) worth the 110.00 price of admission. It is the reprise of "Chim Chim Cher-ee," followed by "Step in Time." The number got a thunderous, deafening applause, but it should have gotten a standing ovation. It's pure genius, both the staging as the roof top morphs into the entire stage with London as a backdrop so that there's enough space for all the blacksmiths to come out of nowhere to sing and dance with their brooms. Mary and the children interact with them, as well. The choreography is spectacularly exciting. Tap plays an important role but so do acrobatics, ballet and modern dance. It's just marvelous.
I was also moved by the story of Mr. Banks. I remembered from the film that he was a stuffed shirt and that Mary's charms eventually won him over, but I didn't remember that we had any idea why he was the way he was. Distant parents who left him in the care of a wicked old witch of a nanny explain it all. He's not just a distant husband and father in the musical. He's mean, often cruel to Mrs. Banks, especially. I didn't remember that from the film, although it might be there. His transformation is credible and moving.
I was also moved by the story of Mr. Banks. I remembered from the film that he was a stuffed shirt and that Mary's charms eventually won him over, but I didn't remember that we had any idea why he was the way he was. Distant parents who left him in the care of a wicked old witch of a nanny explain it all. He's not just a distant husband and father in the musical. He's mean, often cruel to Mrs. Banks, especially. I didn't remember that from the film, although it might be there. His transformation is credible and moving.
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