Review: Mary Poppins

Musical: Mary Poppins
Venue: New Amsterdam Theatre, New York
Date: 10th April 2011 at 15:00
Cast: Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins), Gavin Lee (Bert), Laird Mackintosh (George Banks), Megan Osterhaus (Winifred Banks), Catherine Missal (Jane Banks), David Gabriel Lerner (Michael Banks), Valerie Boyle (Mrs. Brill), Andrew Keenan Bolger (Roberson Ay), Ann Arvia (Bird Woman), Ruth Gottschall (Miss Andrew)
Rating: *****

Review:
I've been wanting to see Mary Poppins for so long so when I'm in New York, this was right on the top of my must-see list, especially with Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, the two original Mary Poppins and Bert. Too bad, that day at TKTS, I got one of the worst seats ever, last row of the balcony!

The New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street

A better shot of the theatre from someone else's camera :)

One thing that bothered me going in to see this show was the parental decision in bringing their kids to the show. I know it's Disney and all but it's still theatre. And actually, I find that Mary Poppins is not really meant for kids who are too young to control themselves over the course of the show which was about 2.40 hours. Yes, she flies, he walks upside down and things popped up here and there magically but the show also carries a lot of content that requires audience concentration. I'm not against bringing kids to theatres. My first theatre experience was when I was 6 and if I didn't like any show, I just went to sleep. And I've seen young kids who behave very well during theatre shows.

What happened at my show was that there were lots of kids crying during the show which was really annoying and I didn't pay a lot of money to listen the children crying. The girl next to me got restless after about 40 minutes into the show and began to cry and finally loudly beg her mom to take her home during "Supercali.." number that the usher had to come to escort them out. These whole situation really ruined the fun of watching the show for me. I don't know, it seemed like a waste of money as well to be honest. You are paying for 2 seats and ended up leaving the show, not even half-way through. For the sake of other audience, if you're bringing young children to the show, please please make sure that they can contain themselves throughout. Thanks.

Beside the kids issue, I really enjoyed the show a lot even though I was sitting so far up above. Admittedly, I have seen the bootleg version of the show so I kinda know what was to happen but it was still pretty magical and fun. The production was very well-done. Good use of sceneries and stage effects. The Cherry Tree Lane house looks pretty amazing and I think how they transfered from the living room to the bedroom, the kitchen and the rooftop was pretty clever. I also like how they originated their own take on the book, rather than just copying off from the movie. I guess it gave the show that something uniquely special for the audience.

The cast was pretty amazing as well. Gavin Lee WAS the definitive Bert. His singing and dancing and acting was just beyond impeccable. He was so lively in every scene he was in and he didn't disappoint at all from his first "Chim-Chim Cher-ee" to "Jolly Holiday" and from "Let's Go Fly a Kite" to the showstopper "Step in Time". He was simply amazing and funny in everything he did.

Gavin Lee as Bert during the opening number

I was so glad to know that Ashley Brown was to assume the title role while Laura Michelle Kelly (original London Mary Poppins) was on hiatus. Not that I didn't want to see Ms. Kelly in the role but I really enjoyed Ms. Brown performance since I first saw her as Belle in Beauty and the Beast and totally fell in love with her voice in Disney's on the Record. She was just practically perfect for the role, to quote Mary Poppins. Her singing voice was as beautiful as ever and her acting was very good. There were times that she actually sounded like Julie Andrews when she spoke.

Ashley Brown as the "practically-perfect" nanny, Mary Poppins

Look it's Bert and Mary Poppins!

The music was quite good here. You got your familiar Mary Poppins songs, most of them got extended one way or another to make way for more story-telling and dancing sequences. Most of the new songs were quite good namely "Anything Can Happen" and "Practically Perfect". I didn't realize that the Broadway version changed the song "Temper, Temper" to be "Playing the Game" which I liked a lot better but it really showed the darker side of Mary Poppins by having her sing it though. I also like the fact that the cast recording omitted many of the snippets of songs in the show. That kinda made many of the tunes fresh for me when I saw it live.

"Jolly Holiday" number which was a total reinterpretation from the movie

Laird Mackintosh, Megan Osterhaus, Catherine Missal and David Gabriel Lerner made up the four members of the Banks Family and they were just fantastic in their roles. I really love Megan Osterhaus as Winifred. Her acting and singing voice was just beautiful and she made the usually-boring "Being Mrs, Banks" into something I actually like. I could see her as a possible Mary Poppins. The supporting cast and the ensemble were great as well. I think the show's strength lied in its ensemble numbers and colorful sceneries notably "Jolly Holiday", "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Anything Can Happen". I never noticed that there was a giant umbrella at the end of "Anything Can Happen" but it was quite impressive, if a little bit strange.

Megan Osterhaus singing "Being Mrs. Banks"

One thing that I didn't really understand from the show was the relationship between Mr. Banks and Bert in the "A Man Has Dreams/A Spoonful of Sugar (Reprise)" scene towards the end of Act Two. It seemed they were long-time friends that have never met in a while? Or had all of this happened to Mr. Banks before, before he met his evil nanny Miss Andrews? Mrs. Correy was mentioning him in the "Supercali..." scene too though. I didn't think there was any clear explanation in the show or maybe it's something the audience just needed to think for themselves??

Overall, it was a wonderful afternoon for me. I think Mary Poppins has lots of hidden lessons there that you could take away as the show ends both as a son/daughter and as a parent (or even as a spouse). And it comes with a magical presentation. I just couldn't stop smiling as Mary Poppins flew from the stage and up past the mezzanine and the balcony towards to theatre ceiling marking the end of the show (get the seats on the right side of the theatre to be closed to Mary Poppins). It was just truly SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS! 

Mary Poppins feeds Michael Banks "A Spoonful of Sugar"

At the end of "A Spoonful of Sugar"
(Mrs. Brill, Robertson Ay, Jane, Michael, Mrs. Banks and Mary Poppins)

SUPER-CALIF-RAGIL-ISTICEXPIALID-O-CIOUS!

The end of Act One
(Laura Michelle Kelly and Christiane Borle)

"Step in Time"

"Anything Can Happen" with the giant umbrella



"We'll never forget you, Mary Poppins"



MUSICAL NUMBERS
ACT ONE
Chim Chim Cher-ee... Bert
Cherry Tree Lane (Part 1)... George, Winifred, Mrs. Brill and Robertson Ay
The Perfect Nanny... Jane and Michael
Cherry Tree Lane (Part 2)... George, Winifred, Mrs. Brill and Robertson Ay
Practically Perfect... Mary Poppins, Jane and Michael
Jolly Holiday... Bert, Mary Poppins, Neleus, Jane, Michael and Statues
Cherry Tree Lane (Reprise)... George
Being Mrs. Banks... Winifred
Jolly Holiday (Reprise)... Jane and Michael
A Spoonful of Sugar... Mary Poppins, Jane, Michael, Robertson Ay and Winifred
Precision and Order... Bank Chairman and Clerks
A Man Has Dreams... George
Feed the Birds... Bird Woman and Mary Poppins
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious... Mary Poppins, Bert, Mrs. Corry, Jane, Michael and Customers
Playing the Game... Mary Poppins, Valentine and Toys
Chim Chim Cher-ee (Reprise)... Bert and Mary Poppins

ACT TWO
Cherry Tree Lane (Reprise)... Mrs. Brill, Robertson Ay, Jane, Michael, Winifred and George
Brimstone and Treacle (Part 1)... Miss Andrew
Let's Go Fly a Kite... Bert, Park Keeper, Jane and Michael
Cherry Tree Lane (Reprise)... George
Being Mrs. Banks (Reprise)... Winifred
Brimstone and Treacle (Part 2)... Miss Andrew and Mary Poppins
Practically Perfect (Reprise)... Jane, Michael and Mary Poppins
Chim Chim Cher-ee (Reprise)... Bert
Step in Time... Bert, Mary Poppins, Jane, Michael and Sweeps
A Man Has Dreams... George
A Spoonful of Sugar (Reprise)... Bert and George
Anything Can Happen... Mary Poppins, Jane, Michael and Company
A Spoonful of Sugar (Reprise)... Mary Poppins
A Shooting Star... Orchestra