LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: Mary Poppins The Musical

A classic Disney film that enchanted the hearts of many has come to town, only this time, the magical tale is centre stage. Many will debate that the theatre has lost its place in society, lost in the hype of cinema and television; it’s hard to say where the stage fits. Nevertheless, the Sydney Capitol Theatre has housed many acclaimed musicals and performances since its opening in 1866. Shows such as: Miss Saigon (1996), My Fair Lady (1997), Midsummer Night’s Dream (1997), West Side Story (1997), Chicago (1999), Swan Lake (2002), Lion King (2003), Billy Elliot (2008), Wicked (2009) and in 2011…

The warm hearted Nanny sent from heaven, joins the list. Mary Poppins graced the big screens in 1964 with fresh faced Julie Andrews, where Disney took audiences on another magical journey of the imagination. In a time of change, Mary Poppins dared viewers to dream and created a ‘Wonderland’ where there was wonder throughout the land.

Mary Poppins brought tunes like, “A Spoon Full of Sugar”, “Chim, Chim Cher-ee” and of course, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” into the bank of Disney classics. Now, 47 years after it brought magic on the screen, Mary Poppins takes to stage in order to show people the value of theatre once more.

The Story

This nostalgic stage adaptation co-created by Cameron Mackintosh (Australian production directed by, Richard Eyre), brings to life the ‘Practically Perfect’ Nanny in order to make the Banks home a better place. Mary Poppins (Verity Hunt-Ballard) has been summoned by Jane (Lexie Duncan) and Michael Banks (Alex Chorley) after running away from yet another Nanny. As George (Philip Quast) and Winifred (Marina Prior) Banks endeavour to write an advertisement, Mary appears in their living room and takes the job without being asked. Narrated through and through with delightful songs sung by tradesman, Bert (Matt Lee), Mary Poppins takes you on the same journey it took many back in 1964 – Cherry Tree Lane.

What was really special about the story is the fact that it retains much of the magical moments of the film. The beautiful thing about this stage adaptation are the new scenes that are either replace scenes in the film or have been added in order to have another degree of flavour to the story. There are great parallels with the film, but all in all, I would say that Mary Poppins – The Musical is almost a whole new story on its own. By almost I mean, the characters, songs and initial basis of Mary’s entrance is the same, but it focuses much more on the family dynamics than the film did. Nevertheless, it’s still ‘a jolly holiday with Mary.’

The Cast

As a whole, the cast were all spectacular in their choreography, singing and acting. I will say that Mary Poppins has one of the best ensembles I have ever seen – but I’ll get to that when I talk about choreography! What I can say now is I was delighted to have seen the show with the main cast, with the exception of Debra Byrne (Bird Lady), but I thought Natalie Alexopoulos was very moving anyway.

Mary Poppins – It was ‘a jolly good holiday with’ Verity Hunt-Ballard. It’s not easy to play a role that was not just portrayed by Hollywood’s most beloved star, but one of Disney’s most beloved characters as well. With big (and light-footed) shoes to fill, Hunt-Ballard gives a fantastic performance. She was believable (as believable as a ‘Practically Perfect’ person can be), humorous and had an amazing voice. Though her singing was absolutely brilliant, I thought her speaking at times became rather high-pitched – but it wasn’t often enough for me to really be annoyed by it.

Bert – Can I just say, I knew Matt Lee could dance, but I never knew he could sing!!! Shock aside, I was delighted to have a familiar face performing in front of me (as you might have guessed from the multitude of film reviews I do, I’m not much of theatre goer). I was really impressed by his grasp of tradesman’s accent; he didn’t falter once! Bert was another beloved character that balanced Mary, he in many ways, was a character that was seemingly ‘practically perfect in every way’ as well – though, most people would not agree. Nevertheless, Lee made Bert super-sweet, endearing and almost childish – everyone has an inner child, Bert is a man who views the world with a child’s eyes – he sees the good in people and situations.

Jane and Michael Banks – Lexie Duncan and Alex Chorley are 2 of 10 (5 Janes and 5 Michaels) to play the Banks children. As a pair, Duncan and Chorley had a fantastic dynamic; they really made me believe that they were brother and sister. Their voices complemented each other well and they worked well together as a team. Duncan was a perfect older sister that was adamant in defying all her Nannies, while Chorley played the younger sibling who was both naughty and sensitive to all people.

George and Winifred Banks – I have always admired Marina Prior, and as she embodies Winifred Banks, she gave and outstanding performance – again I was happy to see another familiar face! Philip Quast was just as dazzling and believable as Prior in his portrayal of a head-of-the-house man who is held together by the right choices he makes outside the home. Together Quast and Prior bring forth a loving and realistic couple; their voices were fantastic and well in tuned to one another. I will say, I missed Mrs. Banks’ vouch for women’s suffrages from the film, but was glad to see it re-asserted to suit a different kind of women’s liberation (don’t worry I won’t spoil it for you!).

Music, Ensemble and Choreography

You cannot have a musical and not talk about the choreography. Each musical number was brilliantly choreographed and each ensemble within the choreography was tight and precise. Although most people will say ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ was one of the best numbers, my favourite was ‘Step In Time’. It was my favourite number in the film and it was my favourite number on the stage – but telling you why would spoil it (clue: it’s to do with the effects available on stage)! But in all honesty, the entire show as a whole had great energy and were all ‘in time’ with one another. Kudos Matthew Bourne, Stephen Mear and George Stiles!!!

The orchestra, under the direction of Michael Tyack, beautifully played Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman’s music and lyrics. Every single song was as bold as every note played by every instrument – it helped the senses really get into the music and leave audiences singing all the way home!

Costumes, Props, Set and Lighting Design

Costumes and Props – You cannot talk about Mary Poppins without her iconic coat, bag, hat and (of course) her magical umbrella. What I really liked about this production is that each coat that she wore in each scene matched a particular set design: black for 17 Cherry Tree Lane; red for the park or the roof top; and purple for the moments that need a little extra magic. Though the majority of the characters were not as eclectic, I loved the ‘Jolly Holiday’ number where everyone had a livelier colour pallet to suit the words of the song. Nevertheless, much of the costuming was reminiscent of the film as well as the early 20^th century that the film was set in.

I was very impressed by many of the small props that aided the characters on stage, like the fake dog and canary. Even though I knew they were fake, I enjoyed their robotic elements and sound effects that went along with them to make them seem realistic. I was especially delighted by one of the paintings that Bert paints for Mary of flowers and he pulls them straight from the canvas and hands them to her – how charming.

Set – My goodness! 17 Cherry Tree Lane is a magical place without Mary! The way that the set pops out from the projected scenery is absolutely breath taking! I was amazed by how much room was in that one set alone! It rotated, opened and closed – not to mention had a front and back! The roof set, as a separate set from the main home structure was a little less impressive, but was beautifully animated in a new song entitled, ‘Playing The Game’. But it was most enchanting in ‘Jolly Holiday’ when the sets became part of the ensemble and ensemble became the sets. Bravo to the entire set design team!

Lighting – Brilliant! It wasn’t the typical focus-on-this-character-and-this-character type of lighting, it was a sensational prompter. Every scene was heightened by the brightness and darkness of the stage. On particular scene I loved and moved me the most was the ‘Feed The Birds’ scene. Beautifully enhanced by a bare stage and a merely projected setting, this scene was just a delicate balance of low flood lights and snow-like rays of light; beautiful and moving.

Working with Strings

Alright, cat’s out of the bag. The secret to this performance hangs on – you guessed it – string work. We all know people can’t really fly and kites need the wind for it to be up in the air, but what’s really great about this production is, the strings are not obvious. Though there were times I could tell they were taking harnesses off Mary and sometimes the light would reveal the odd string or two, it never really took you away from the spectacle in front of you.

Overall thoughts…

Simply, I want to see it again. I really do. That’s it. I missed out on Wicked and the last time I was at the Capitol Theatre was 7 years ago for Lion King. So, I’m telling you, it is worth going to this production. Take your kids! The family next to me had a blast with their two daughters and this is not just for the young, elderly people all around me enjoyed the show too. We were all singing, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ (I love how Word knows that that’s a word!) as we left the theatre. Go see it!

sL Star Rating: 5 stars

Next on sL: TBA