Mega Musical 'Mary Poppins' Lands at Segerstrom Center
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| Mary Poppins Through Aug. 7, 2011 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays 2 p.m./7:30 p.m. Saturdays 1 p.m./6:30 p.m. Sundays 2 p.m. July 14 Segerstrom Center for the Arts 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa :: scfta.org |
I can’t stop humming and my face hurts from grinning, a result of my recent visit to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts to experience the touring production of Mary Poppins – in town for only a few short weeks. If there is a theater outing that should be added to your summer plans, this is the one. Mary Poppins is a musical theater masterpiece which took years to arrive to the stage and exemplifies wonderful collaborations between the best of the best.
With a production slogan like “Disney and Cameron Macintosh Present Mary Poppins – A Musical Based on the Stories of P.L. Travers and The Walt Disney Film,” your performance expectation bar should be raised to the outer heavens, and I am confident the show’s producers and creative teams would have it no other way. It was a challenging journey to get to the 2011 tour, and the literary and multimedia trek is a great story on its own.
I will give you a CliffsNotes version:
1943
Walt Disney became familiar with the stories of Mary Poppins, written by Australian author Pamela Travers. He begins a long back-and-forth negotiation for the film rights with the rather thorny Travers, which lasted for two decades. Disney works on the film treatments for two years before having a signed contract. Once they finally reach an agreement, Disney pursues making the film he envisioned, with the catchy and infectious tunes written by studio composers Richard and Bob Sherman.
August 27, 1964
The film is released and begins its ascent into movie classic history. It is Julie Andrews' film debut and garners her an Oscar. Nominated for 13 awards, it takes home five: The Sherman brothers received two of them for Best Music and Best Original Song, “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” The film, Mary Poppins, is Disney’s single most successful night at the Academy Awards – ever. It has been ranked number six by the American Film Institute as one of the top Movie Musicals of All Time.
Flash Forward to 1993…
The incredibly successful and prolific English producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who was relishing critical and financial success from Cats, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera, had the Nanny on his mind for years, and finally lands a meeting with the then-93-year-old Travers. He begins the courtship to obtain the theatrical rights for Mary Poppins, as Disney had the film rights, but was never granted the theatrical ones. After many meetings, Mackintosh persuades Travers that a combination of the greatest elements from the film and her stories would make for a wonderful musical. Mackintosh obtains the theatrical rights and begins his collaboration with Disney’s Michael Eisner. Mackintosh works with composers, George Stiles and Anthony Drew, who write new songs to complement the existing classic Sherman brothers tunes, including “Practically Perfect.”
Flash Forward to 2001…
Mackintosh engages with Disney’s Head of Theatricals Thomas Schumaker in a meeting of the minds, he realizes they both have similar visions of how the show would evolve: a combination that would merge the best of the books and the film to create a performance that was familiar yet filled with wonderful surprises. They begin collecting an amazing team for the creative and technical excellence they need to bring the show to reality.
2004
Mary Poppins opens in the West End at the Prince Edward Theatre. Critics claim the show is a bit too dark – producers do not allow children under three to attend. The show is officially tagged as being "for children seven years and up."
2006
A reworked production opens on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater. On July 16, 2011, the Broadway production surpassed Pippin to become the 30th longest running show in Broadway history.
2009
US tour begins with a scaled down version of the sets to accommodate smaller venues.
2010
Australian production opened in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre.
July 2011
Touring production comes to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
Back in February I met with John Oliphant, production carpenter at Segerstrom Hall, who was already working with the touring company on the technical requirements for this show. I knew then that this was going to be an extraordinary performance, based on the intricate stages, special effects and lighting tricks Oliphant briefly shared with me. Although the staging was scaled down for the tour, it still requires a great deal of real estate and a two-and-a-half-day load-in at each venue.
To give you a feel for the massive undertaking behind this magical mega-musical theater experience, here are some facts about the touring show.
It requires 14 trucks to move the show from city to city.
The roof and the nursery set assembled weighs about 7,000 pounds.
The pop-up Banks House weighs 11,000 pounds.
There are over 250 unique props in the show.
There are 175 moving lights, 576 dimmers and 270 lighting fixtures, with over 350 lighting cues.
There are 250 costume looks in the show, including over 35 women’s hats.
Bert has a dedicated dresser whose primary task is to follow him backstage with a water bottle to keep him hydrated.
The first number the cast rehearses is “Supercal…” and cast members practice it for hours to learn the complicated choreography.
During my July evening experience, the entire audience was absolutely gobsmacked by the story, the music, the sets, the costumes, the technical tricks, the lighting, the orchestra… the entire mega-magical experience. Very enthusiastic hoots, hollers and ovations were abundant at Segerstrom Hall. As they should have been: This is a big budget, pull-out-all-the-stops, no-holds-barred HUGE musical, and if you sit back and revel in it, rather than try to make comparisons or be overly critical, you will be thoroughly entertained. I recommend that you do not watch the movie before you see this show, watch it afterwards, as I did. It had been a very long time since I had seen the film, and I really soaked in the musical’s story without any preconceived notions fresh in my mind. After viewing the film again, and seeing the musical, I need to take a trip to the library to check out the series, as I rather enjoyed the addition of some of Travers’ darker elements added to the plot.
Dark aside, this musical is full of wonderful notions, supported by a fantastic cast. Mary is mastered by the lovely Steffanie Leigh, whose poise is simply superb, most especially with some subtle movie nods, from sliding up the banister to her trademark rigid stage exits. Our favorite chimney sweep, Bert is played by Nicholas Dromard, who understudied the part on Broadway. He is absolutely outstanding in the role, from his endearing sincerity, playful disposition and terrific dance skills. Laird Mackintosh and Blythe Wilson are the Banks parents; Camille Mancuso and Marissa Smoker, and Talon Ackerman and Tyler Merna alternately play the mischievous children, Jane and Michael Banks. They all do a great job portraying their characters: members of the upper middle class who place a lot of importance on appearances, rather than life experiences, a serious point washed over in the film version of the story.
Where the movie gives off an intentional cartoonish take on the characters (this incensed author Travers), the musical grounds the family of four and their staff of three. Mrs. Brill (Rachel Izen) and Robertson Ay (Dennis Moench) are intolerant of the constant turnover of nannies in the Banks household yet must endure the turmoil with little say. They add some comedic chaos to the story, as do the children, who are naughtier in the stage version than those in the film, making the need for Super Nanny Mary Poppins much more relevant. Although Mary Poppins is set in Edwardian England, the story of a rather dysfunctional family – an emotionally scarred, overworked, detached, professional father with job insecurities, a mother searching for relevance and two kids who behave poorly, trying to gain any kind of attention, negative or otherwise – could be a story set in a lot of upper middle class neighborhoods in 2011. Sounds a bit serious, but maybe a dose of reality mixed with magic is more relevant than the rather ridiculous parents and children portrayed in the film version.
Ungrounded, of course, is Mary Poppins, who brings on the magic, and whose mode of transportation is flying with her black, parrot-handled umbrella (purchase a replica at the Disney kiosk for $40). Umbrella in hand, she takes her wards and beau on enchanted adventures, surrounded by a timeless and terrific musical score and the amazing choreography of Matthew Borne. You are in for a treat when Mary uses her umbrella (that is all I will say about it – enjoy).
Although there are some weighty messages pulled from the books in the stage version of Mary Poppins in comparison to the film of the 1960s, don’t think that it will get you down. The journey to the happily ever after of Mary Poppins is “practically perfect” and one that is executed with an excellence unsurpassed, much expected from this big-budgeted vehicle with the Disney and Mackintosh credentials attached. This show is really in a class unto itself, and there is nothing wrong with that, if you let yourself believe. Don’t miss this one, you have until August 7 before the winds change or the chain breaks!
