Mary Poppins, the “practically perfect” English nanny, has used her umbrella to fly into the Cherry Tree Lane, London home of the Banks family in the pages of books, the celluloid of a musical motion picture, and on the boards of stages. Most recently the Banks’ household is resident on Broadway, but, sadly, it should pack itself back into Mary Poppins’ magical handbag.
It’s Not a Jolly Holiday with Mary
At a time of year which seems to belong to children and the child within everyone, many families attend theatrical entertainments, but this musical is not friendly to the festivities.
This stage musical seems to be a disturbing mismatch of failed comedy and tragedy. The moments intended to be jovial are not particularly amusing, and the moments intended to be serious somehow only achieve being simply scary and snooze-worthy at the same time.
Practically Perfect Parts of the Production
The two distinguishing qualities of this production are the intriguingly effective sets, and Scarlett Strallen, the actress currently playing Mary.
The elaborate dollhouse-like set exhibits endearing warmth, and the moveable rooms are fascinating to watch moment to moment. The seemingly simple, but stunningly striking set of the bank, is cleverly achieved, also achieving setting the atmosphere of the scene and conveying important information.
Strallen captures the character of Mary with likeable dimension. Her movements, facial expressions, and voice successfully produce an entertaining and interesting Poppins. Her multifaceted performance puts to shame Julie Andrews’ portrayal of the same nanny.
Disney Differences
Walt Disney’s children’s classic film Mary Poppins (1964) is very different from Disney’s current stage show.
The Banks children are less loveable characters in the musical, and Mr. Banks is given more back story, with his torturous childhood nanny even tyrannically turning up in the second act. While in the film Mrs. Banks is a Suffragette, in the musical she is a former actress. This leads to the exclusion from Broadway of the musical number “Sister Suffragette.”
This is not the only song excluded. The noticeable absence is caused by the diminishment of the use of the songs “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” It is understandable that a stage production would make omissions and additions to its film form. Unfortunately, song additions such as “Brimstone and Treacle” and “Good for Nothing,” seem to add bleak tones forcibly rather than naturally introducing darker dimensions to the story. However, the new song “Anything can Happen,” is magically moving.
The special effects of the movie, which are more easily achieved, are superior to that of the musical, the special effects of which are uneven. Mary Poppin’s handbag produces many objects impressively invisibly, but regarding other effects, wires are visible or in some way fail to achieve any effect.
Popping Off The Page
Mary first appeared in a series of books by P.L. Travers. These books were published from 1934 to 1988, the first book being the predominant influence of Disney’s movie musical version.
Travers disliked the movie starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, and she declined further Disney adaptations. In 1993, producer Cameron Mackintosh suggested the stage musical. Travers only agreed with stipulations, including excluding the involvement of anyone from the film production. Travers, who died in 1996, repeated her instructions in her will.
In 2004, the stage musical premiered in Bristol and soon moved to the West End Prince Edward Theater. The Broadway production, which varies from its London counterpart, opened in 2006.
Disney may continue to advertise as having Broadway’s triple-theatrical-threat, but Mary Poppins is no replacement for the actually magical Beauty and the Beast.
