Well, I’m just back from the “Gala Premiere Night” at the Bristol Hippodrome of Mary Poppins the stage musical. Whilst there was not much “Gala” about the theatre – just a red carpet and a few cameramen out the front, the show itself proved very popular with the audience.
Those going expecting a new bit of cutting edge theatre will be disappointed. Those wanting to see a traditional musical theatre production based on the movie will love it.
The show does nothing new in terms of theatrical presentation, but it does a grand job of telling the story and getting the audience immersed in it.
It’s been a long time since I saw the movie, so I can’t make detailed comparisons of what was changed for the stage, but they did not go into Bert’s drawings and interact with a lot of cartoon animals.
The main house set slides forward from the rear of the stage with the roof descending from the fly tower. For scenes in the attic, the main house slides back, the roof ascends and the attic set contained within the roof descends to stage level.
All the other sets are backcloths, open stage or multiple trucks.
All around the cast were great, and even if the two kids were not note perfect they managed to not get on my nerves and the little lad did an especially good job with his comedy lines, having been given the best dialogue between the two kids.
The parents are spot on, with Mr Banks giving the right performance that really makes you empathise with him.
Mary and Bert do what’s expected of them with Mary having a very nice singing voice. Bert gets to have a more accurate accent than his movie counterpart, with Mary giving what the audience want and not doing anything to radically “make the part her own”.
The support cast are also strong with the two servants, the evil nanny, the park keeper, and the oldest lady in the world and the bird lady all making the full opportunity of their roles.
At the end the audience gave it a standing ovation after Mary made her exit by flying across the stage then over the stalls and up to the gods.
If anyone has any questions about the show, best ask now whilst it’s still fresh in my mind.
Those going expecting a new bit of cutting edge theatre will be disappointed. Those wanting to see a traditional musical theatre production based on the movie will love it.
The show does nothing new in terms of theatrical presentation, but it does a grand job of telling the story and getting the audience immersed in it.
It’s been a long time since I saw the movie, so I can’t make detailed comparisons of what was changed for the stage, but they did not go into Bert’s drawings and interact with a lot of cartoon animals.
The main house set slides forward from the rear of the stage with the roof descending from the fly tower. For scenes in the attic, the main house slides back, the roof ascends and the attic set contained within the roof descends to stage level.
All the other sets are backcloths, open stage or multiple trucks.
All around the cast were great, and even if the two kids were not note perfect they managed to not get on my nerves and the little lad did an especially good job with his comedy lines, having been given the best dialogue between the two kids.
The parents are spot on, with Mr Banks giving the right performance that really makes you empathise with him.
Mary and Bert do what’s expected of them with Mary having a very nice singing voice. Bert gets to have a more accurate accent than his movie counterpart, with Mary giving what the audience want and not doing anything to radically “make the part her own”.
The support cast are also strong with the two servants, the evil nanny, the park keeper, and the oldest lady in the world and the bird lady all making the full opportunity of their roles.
At the end the audience gave it a standing ovation after Mary made her exit by flying across the stage then over the stalls and up to the gods.
If anyone has any questions about the show, best ask now whilst it’s still fresh in my mind.
