Broadway Review: Mary Poppins

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun songs and dances, amazing visuals

Cons: Different from movie, climax too sudden

The Bottom Line:

Mary Poppins shines

Still practically perfect

You'll enjoy this play

The Movie It Ain't, but Mary Poppins is Practically Perfect as a Play

As a Disney fan living in Los Angeles, I've been jealous of the many Broadway plays Disney has been doing recently.  It seems to take forever for a tour to reach us, assuming it is successful enough to even get a tour.  So when plans for Mary Poppins were announced, I started checking dates.  The tour is currently at the Ahmanson Theater and will be through mid-February 2010.  It was definitely worth going to see.

I read the books as a kid, and I love the movie.  However, fans of both will notice that the two only bear superficial similarities, mostly the character names and a few scenes.  The characters themselves are very different.  It's the same thing with the play.  Leave behind all your expectations and you'll be fine.

Once again, the story centers around the Banks family at number 17 Cherry Tree Lane.  Jane and Michael, the children, have just driven off yet another nanny.  Father George is exasperated, expecting Winifred to handle all domestic issues so he can have peace when he is home.

Into the chaos arrives Mary Poppins.  She's prim and proper on the outside, but full of fun times and magic.  While she leads Jane and Michael on a series of wild adventures with the help of her friend Bert, George finds himself in trouble at work.  Since George is a distant man consumed by his job, he hardly knows what to do.  Will he reconnect with his family?

In many ways, it is hard to review the play without talking about the books and the movie.  The books are really a collection of short stories.  In the first chapter, Mary Poppins arrives.  She leads Jane and Michael (and their younger siblings) through a series of strange adventures, then leaves in the final chapter.  Every time, she visits the same family.

You'll notice there was no talk of an overall plot.  The family dynamics are something Disney incorporated into the movie.  But that explains why the movie only has the loosest of plots.  Frankly, while the movie entertains from start to finish, the plot starts and stops so much it's just barely enough to hold things together.

And the play feels the same way.  There is a plot to it involving George Banks and how hurt his family is by his emotional absence.  Even Mrs. Banks is hurt and lonely.  A bit more time is spent developing this, but the majority of the play is devoted to wacky adventures like statues coming to live in the park, a shop that sells conversation, words, and letters, or the show stopping "Step in Time" dance on the rooftops.

Honestly, this play bares only the smallest of similarities with the movie.  Most of the songs have been changed, some of them dramatically.  Songs and events happen in a different order.  And, yes, some scenes have been cut.  Leave all ideas on how the story should go at the door, and you'll be fine.

While they cut some stuff out, they've added quite a bit in.  As a fan of the books, I got a kick out of seeing what they chose to include.  Most of these changes come straight from the books.  I went with a friend who had never read the books, but she seemed fine with the changes and enjoyed the play as much as I did.  Naturally, they've added some songs as well, which just added to the fun of the show.

In some ways, I was disappointed with the choreography.  Most of the big dance numbers had too many people on stage to really make for a good dance.  The exception was "Step in Time."  This song comes in the second act and is still the perfect show stopper with some great dancing.  Heck, this is the song where Bert walks completely around the frame for the stage, at times walking completely upside down.  I'd really love to know how they did that (other than wires).

And I've got to say the play looked wonderful.  Even from where we were sitting (very back row), the effects were amazing.  I might have seen through more of them had we been closer, but I actually enjoyed sitting back and being fooled.  Mary flies a few times, we've got lots of kites on stage at one point, and shelves and tables break and then fix themselves.

The acting was great as well.  Gavin Lee and Jane Carr originated the roles of Bert and Mary on stage, and their familiarity with the parts makes them stand out.  Yet they obviously aren't tired of the parts either.  The actors who played Jane and Michael were amazing as well.  The rest of the cast is enjoyable, although they don't stand out like the four leads do.

After all this praise, I do have one complaint.  What little there is of the story seems underdeveloped.  Part of it is because the plot revolves around Mr. Banks, but the stars are Mary, Bert, and the children.  But it seemed like we hit the climax and a change in Mr. Banks too suddenly.  Of course, it took me several times through the movie to truly see how things progressed there.  So maybe if I saw the play again, I would see how it flows better than the impression I currently have.

Minor plot issues aside, I truly did enjoy Mary Poppins.  If the tour is coming to your area, I highly recommend you go see it.