Stage Review - Mary Poppins (5th Avenue Theatre)
Stage Review - Mary Poppins
Presented By: 5th Avenue Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: November 22 - December 29, 2024 (Extended)
Date Reviewed: Sunday, December 01, 2024 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 40 Minutes (including a 20-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Last year at this time, The 5th Avenue Theatre was putting up its holiday show, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, a holiday spectacular directed by David Armstrong and James A. Rocco, a show that went on to win our award for Best Professional Musical at our most recent awards ceremony. With a big, bright, and bold scenic design, choreography that eclipsed the movie version of the White Christmas, and an entertainment value that was literally off the charts, the 5th would surely have a challenge to pull something like that off two years in a row. And while Mary Poppins, the musical from Disney and Cameron Mackintosh isn’t a Christmas story per se, it’s one that is popular in both professional and community theatre lineups at this time of year, and what The 5th Avenue Theatre has chosen not just as their holiday show for 2024, but as their late season opener as well. The musical, with a book by Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey and Gilded Age fame) and songs by Richard and Robert Sherman from the original Disney movie, along with new tunes from George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, has already been extended and runs on stage at The 5th through December 29. If this production of Mary Poppins, directed and choreographed by Denis Jones, falls short of last year’s absolutely extraordinary production of White Christmas, it might only be by a hair, and even that would be the smallest of follicles.
One of the reasons I love reviewing any production of Mary Poppins, whether professional or community, good or bad, is because I just adore the backstory. And no, I’m not talking about the story of the creation of the film that was chronicled in Saving Mr. Banks, the Disney film which depicted the challenges that Walt Disney faced in mounting his film and receiving approval from Poppins author PL Travers, though that history is, in itself, fascinating. There’s a sequel to that story, that not a lot of people talk about, one that is directly associated with this musical version. When Cameron Mackintosh met with PL Travers to secure the rights to make a stage musical version of her stories, she agreed, but with two conditions, first that anyone involved in the creation of the musical must be English and second, and given the events described in Saving Mr. Banks I imagine non-negotiable, nobody involved in the Disney motion picture was to be part of the creative and development team for the musical. Well, shortly after Travers’ death, Mackintosh met with Thomas Schumacher, the head of Disney Theatrical, to discuss a partnership in which the new musical be allowed to use songs from the original film. That eventually led to the musical becoming part of the Disney Theatrical family, so, in short, PL Travers lost her fight to keep Mary Poppins out of Disney’s hands, even after her passing, but truth be told, the musical takes much less liberty with the content of her books than the original Disney film, and there are plenty of new songs included in the musical, though none are as catchy or memorable as those familiar tunes from the Sherman brothers. And while Mary Poppins might not take place specifically in December, I find it to have a lot of the characteristics that make any story a Christmas story, love, family, forgiveness, a sense of community, and a fair share of magic, so yes, why not…..let’s call Mary Poppins a Christmas story!
While the differences between the musical and the film are many, no animation of course, the relationships between Mary, Mr. And Mrs. Banks, and the children are more complex, and we run into some new characters, George’s childhood nanny Miss Andrews, Neleus the stone statue, and of course the new songs, there is one thing that is constant, and that is our favorite nanny, Mary Poppins herself. Playing her in this production is Mallory Cooney King and boy is she a superb Poppins. And while Mallory had been having some voice struggles leading up to opening night, she was all in on giving it a go for our performance, and she was stellar, though it was clear her voice was not 100%, even as early as her first musical number, “Practically Perfect”. Mallory muscled through a few subtle voice cracks, and I think we all wondered if she could keep it up. But aside from that, her soprano is indeed beautiful, and her portrayal is, to borrow the phrase, even a little more than practically perfect. Mallory carries herself with the posture of a nanny who knows that she’s special, her expressions and mannerisms and that little bit of arrogance that Mary comes with are all handled beautifully. She’s aloof and confident, and when she opens her mouth to sing, even with those few voice cracks, it’s such a pleasure. But since theatre is a marathon and not a sprint, and protecting one’s voice is imperative, when the announcement was made at intermission that understudy Allison Standley would be coming in to play the lead character for Act 2, it was a bit disappointing of course, but not surprising at all. This quick substitution speaks volumes about the talent in the Seattle acting pool, as well as Allison herself and her preparation that the show did not lose a step. Whether it’s the music, the interactions with the Banks family, especially the children, and other characters, or any other aspect of the show, Allison handled it all, and very well. Her voice is also excellent as is her control and management of the character, and in this performance, she had to come in and perform some pretty challenging dance moves in “Step in Time”, including some pretty nice tap dancing. From a reviewer’s perspective, I’m more than happy to take in multiple actors performing the same role, to see how they each interpret the character, though never under circumstances like this, I think we’re all hoping for a speedy recovery. There are nuanced differences between Mallory and Allison, of course, but credit to director Denis Jones for making sure that his vision is captured regardless of who the actor is that is playing the lead role, and it has to make this cast and crew breathe a sigh of relief knowing they’re in good hands regardless of the Poppins on stage.
Where you can find Mary, in this story, most of the time you can find Bert. Played by Danny Gardner, here Bert is not just a chimney sweep, though he is most definitely that, he’s a jack of all trades, and he knows Mary and seems to possess a bit of the same kind of magic that she does. Bert is also the musical’s narrator, guiding the audience through the ups and downs in the life of the Banks family, he’s the voice of reason in George Banks’ head when he seems to need it most, and he’s a beacon of light when the children are lost. Bert is the thread that keeps the show together, and Danny is engaging and enthralling, and the way he draws the audience in is special. As good as Danny is in all of these aspects of his portrayal, where he excels is in his movement and in his execution of Denis’ amazingly complex and challenging choreography. “Step in Time” is the high water mark of any version of Mary Poppins when it comes to dance, but the version here is by far the most exciting and engaging version that I’ve seen on stage, and the ensemble’s execution of the choreography is precise and in sync. To watch this group of sweeps with their brooms acrobatically moving on stage in complete synchronicity, or tapping in rhythm together seemingly as one is jaw dropping and just masterful. Danny’s portrayal of Bert leads this ensemble group, whether they’re having a “Jolly Holiday” in the park with Mary, or flying a kite, Bert is ever present, the fulcrum of the story, especially in these big musical numbers.
And while “Step in Time” is amazingly performed, and its transition into “Down the Chimney” seamless and fluid, the biggest surprise, and most creatively designed and precisely executed number is “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” (you’d think I would be able to spell that by now after all this time), a new version of the classic song from the movie, set at Mrs. Corry’s Talking Shop, where she specializes in conversations, which she happens to be out of, but Mary Poppins, being Mary Poppins, is able to find enough letters to make a certain word, which launches the group into this amazing number. Mrs. Corry is played by the wonderful Karen Skrinde, who also plays Miss Lark, the Cherry Tree Lane resident who is never without her yappy dog Willoughby. Karen is wonderful as the keeper of the letters, and shows her vocal and acting versatility portraying two eccentric, but thoroughly different characters. The beauty of this piece, though, is the precision in which Denis moves the actors around the stage, and swiftly. Each letter in this special word is grabbed by an actor, who then proceeds to use their letter to spell any number of other, smaller words throughout the song, created through Denis’ movement, positioning the right letters (actors), at the right place on stage at the right time. The ensemble is not small, and this whole number reminds me of a large marching band that is moving at speed, seemingly chaotically, until all of a sudden there’s a shape on the field. It’s the same thing here, this group speedily moves around the stage, and while of course it’s not chaotic, when they stop and a word forms from the not so random letters, it’s just stunning. The entirety of it is just fantastic, and encapsulates everything that is wonderful about this production.
If there is any part of the casting process that gets overlooked, or otherwise minimized, it usually happens within the Banks family. The children, Jane and Michael, are surely an important part, and here they are cast extremely well. In the opening night performance they were played by Gia Pellegrini and Liam Kuriatnyk (they alternate performances with Masie Marsh and Omry Macon), and I found them both to be very likable and extremely talented. Bringing children into leads in a show of this magnitude can be a risky proposition, but these two nail their roles, and their harmonies, together and with the ensemble, are just beautiful, and that doesn’t even consider the way they more than held their own dancing with the group. Mrs. (Winifred) Banks, played by Jazmine Gorsline, isn’t a suffragette here, but rather she’s a feminist in a more important way, strong in exerting her free will to choose what she wants to do with her life. Jazmine is a very good Winifred, and while in Act 1, her job is to try and keep the family from coming undone, a former actress, content in her life as Mrs. Banks, though with a hint of sadness as sung beautifully by Jazmine in “Being Mrs. Banks. But in Act 2, she steps out of her complacency, and summons her strength and resolve to defend and stand up for her husband and her family. This resolve is clear in the Act 2 reprise of “Saving Mrs. Banks” and the contrasting mood of both versions of the song say so much about Jazmine’s grasp of the character. It’s George Banks, though, that is sometimes overlooked in casting, and the argument can surely be made that he’s the most important character in the story. After all, haven’t we learned that Mary Poppins isn’t there for the children, she’s really there to save the father? This role requires a stern and straightforward portrayal of a no-nonsense father/banker, followed by a few epiphanal moments, and ultimately a complete transformation into a man who puts his wife and family above everything. This journey requires an actor to manage all of those emotions through his acting, his interactions with his wife, children, and Mary Poppins, and through his singing. Eric Ankrim has been a cast as George Banks in the 5th Avenue production and he’s spot on, reserved, angry, sad, scared, exited, hopeful, and supportive. Eric is all of these things at the right times, and again, though Mary Poppins’ name may be on the marquee, the way George Banks is portrayed can make or break a show, and Eric is as much a contributor to this show’s success as anyone or anything else.
On the supporting side, I mentioned Karen Skrinde, but she’s not the only memorable character in the show beyond the leads. Bobbi Kotula’s Mrs. Brill, the frustrated and overworked maid at the Banks house is just hilarious, as is the acrobatic Nik Hagen as Robertson Ay, the Banks’ houseboy, another character from the Poppins books, but not in the original film. Cristin J. Hubbard plays George’s old nanny, Miss Andrew (The Holy Terror!!), her grand entrance just one example of the brilliance of the light and sound design (Robert J. Aguilar and Haley Parcher) in the show, and her performance excellently evil. Cristin is also the famous bird woman, and I like what the musical has done here, making that number a duet between her and Mary Poppins, Cristin and Mallory sounding beautiful together.
Like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Feed the Birds”, the arrangements of the classic songs from the film have been altered a bit for the musical, but all and all I like what they’ve done here. The new songs are generally good, some better than others, like “Practically Perfect” or “Being Mrs. Banks”. “Brimstone and Treacle” is good in that it features Cristin’s excellent Miss Andrews, but Part 2, which is basically a duet between Miss Andrew and Mary Poppins (Nanny Fight!), is wildly entertaining, performed so well on opening night by Cristin and Allison. And while “Anything Can Happen” has a great line, I find that number to be marginally good, and “Playing the Game” to be exceedingly dark, and somewhat out of place in the tone of the musical, though it does serve its purpose in the overall plot arc.
And creatively, I haven’t said anything about the scenic design from Timothy R. Mackabee. This component is solid, each location meticulously designed and built out, front the inside of the Banks’ Cherry Tree Lane residence, to the nursery where Jane and Michael Banks sleep, and all of the other locations, each is a self-contained set unto itself, dropped or slid into place while a mural of the outside of the Banks residence hangs from the rafters. The mural itself is a work of art, and provides a backdrop for the actors to walk in front of while sets are changed behind it. It’s a nice way to keep the flow of the show moving while at the same time moving larger pieces in and out of the stage area. From the staging perspective, I appreciate the inside of the Banks house the most, the way Timothy is able to capture three areas, George’s office, the foyer area, and living room in one piece, providing a nice canvas for Denis to work with in his blocking and flow from one area of the house to the other. Finally, there is the magical aspect of the story, captured impressively by Timothy and this design team, also highlighting the work of stage manager Jeffrey K. Hanson.
Mary Poppins is a undoubtedly a classic, and as a follow-up to last year’s award winning White Christmas, The 5th Avenue Theatre is hoping that by staging it this holiday season that lightning can strike twice in two years at Christmastime. Thanks to amazing choreography from director Denis Jones, and a cast that is superb in its execution, and supremely talented all the way from the leads to the ensemble, they have, in fact, delivered another stupendous, exhilarating, and wholly entertaining holiday show. It’s not just fun for the whole family, it’s an example of the high level of musical theatre that Seattle has proven time and again that it is capable of delivering. Bravo, you’ve done it again.
The 5th Avenue Theatre production of Disney’s Mary Poppins runs on stage in Seattle through December 29. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.5thavenue.org/.
Photo credit: Tracy Martin, Mark Kitaoka
