Mary Poppins
Disney and Cameron Mackintosh
29 July 2010
His Majesty’s Theatre
Disney and Cameron Mackintosh
29 July 2010
His Majesty’s Theatre
The pure
delight of Mary Poppins will ignite
the love of theatre and story in any child and reminds us grown ups that we
should never stop believing in our own dreams. Or, as only the best people say: it’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – and
deserves every standing ovation and sold out sign that it’s going to get.
Throw away
your expectations from the 1964 Disney film (with Julie Andrews) or P L Travers’ books. With the rights to both, Cameron Mackintosh joined forces with Disney to
create something so new that, once you’ve seen it, it’s hard to imagine it as
anything else.
The original
2004 West End production won Olivier Awards and went to Broadway in 2006 to be
nominated for Tony Awards. If the heart-felt standing ovation of last night’s
opening is anything to go by, the Australian production won’t be closing for a
very long time.
Every scene
reveals more of Bob Crowley’s spectacular – and Tony winning – design as it captures
the nostalgia of a black and white illustrated story, the whimsy of a pop up
book, the wonder of a painting and the fantasy of a multi-million dollar movie.
But for all the whizz-bang stage effects, the soul of Mary Poppins is the story.
Mary’s magic shows her charges an unforgettable world, but magic of Mary is balanced by
the reality of a family who have forgotten how to love each other in a world
where banks can kick people out of their homes.
George and
Winifred Banks’ two children have gone through six nannies in four weeks. Jane
and Michael are determined and bratty, but only because they want a nanny who
will love and play with them and even though George burns their job description
for an ideal nanny, Mary Poppins still answers the call.
The cast of
musical theatre veterans and our youngest soon-to-be super stars are so fresh that
it’s almost impossible not to sing along.
With perfect
comic timing, Marina Prior brings heart to the downtrodden Winifred and Philip
Quast lets George realise just what he nearly lost. Matt Lee may not be the
best singer, but his Bert is loveable and I think he can dance. Judi Connelli
was born to be an evil Nanny and Debra Byrne’s poignant Bird Woman is
reminiscent of her Grizabella in the first Australian CATS.
Keeping up
with these old-timers are ten performers sharing the pivotal roles of Jane and
Michael. If the rest are as professional and ridiculously talented as Kurtis Papdinis
and Haley Edwards, they too will be the stars of the show.
And everyone
is supported by an ensemble who bring this irresistible world to life by
creating the atmosphere, emotion and joy that flows from the stage to even the
furthest god-seat. Watching the ensemble, audiences lucky enough to see an
understudy perform will be in for a treat.
But as practically
perfect as everyone is, Verity Hunt-Ballard’s Mary is the performance to
remember. With a voice that will rightly be compared to Julie Andrews and a
lightness of foot that equals Matt Lee, Hunt-Ballard makes Mary her own by
adding mystery to her sternness and a hint of regret and sadness to her love.
Even with the most brilliant of scripts, it’s the performer who makes an
audience love a character and Hunt-Ballard ensures that everyone leaves the
theatre wanting to dance and knowing that they will start looking for the best
in all people.
This review appears on AussieTheatre.com
Whoopi at the 2008 Tony Awards
"Step in Time" by the Broadway cast
And if you love Philip Quast (George Banks) here's a bit of him in one of my favourite TV shows Ultraviolet. (This is from ep 5, so there are some spoilers)
