Mary Poppins - The Musical

Practically perfect in every way! And that’s not just super-nanny MARY POPPINS but the entire touring production, which will simply blow you away up through the atmosphere! Currently running in Edinburgh, this is a must-see musical you don’t want to miss!

Yes, Cameron Mackintosh and Disney’s breath-taking production of the multi-award winning musical – based on the stories by P.L. Travers and the original 1964 Disney film - is enjoying a UK tour and promises packed-out venues everywhere. Where does one start? Book by Julian Fellows plus co-direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne… then there’s the original music and lyrics but also some new songs. As for the set and costume designs, not to mention the projections and illusions: it will leave you speechless!

At the core of the action, which primarily takes place in and around the Banks household in London’s Cherry Tree Lane at the turn of the last century, is magical nanny Mary Poppins, portrayed by Australian Stefanie Jones and it’s no surprise that she won a ‘Sydney Theatre Award’ for Best Performance in a leading role in a Musical in the Australian National Tour of this dazzling production. Jones is simply mesmerizing as Mary Poppins! Matching her is fellow Australian Jack Chambers as cheeky Cockney chimney sweep Bert, who manages a decent Cockney accent and my oh my, can he dance (even tap dance)! No surprise really, that back in his native Australia he won the first season of ‘So You Think You Can Dance - Australia’ in 2008. Watch him perform a routine which would give Spiderman a run for his money!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will of course be familiar with the plot, concerning the Banks family, with strict, stiff upper lip patriarch George Banks (Michael D. Xavier gets his role down to a tee) neglecting his long suffering wife Winifred (portrayed with relish by Lucie-Mae Sumner) in favour of his job working at a bank. Meanwhile, their children Jane and Michael (Olaya Martinez Cambon and Oscar McCulloch respectively, both doing a great job) go through their nannies like nothing and are equally neglected by their father, who has time for little else but his job. He leaves his wife in charge of choosing the next nanny and along flies Mary Poppins out of the sky and into the Banks household. Little do the children, and indeed the parents know that their lives are about to change forever… This also goes for cook Mrs. Brill (Rosemary Ashe) and servant Robertson Ay (Ruairidh McDonald) – providing humour and laughter.

Audiences are treated to all the classical, well known numbers like ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’, ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘Precision and Order’, ‘Let’s Go Fly A Kite’ and the rather melancholic ‘Feed The Birds’, with a wonderful rendition by West End star Patti Boulaye as the Bird Woman. Suffice to say that Mary Poppin’s signature song ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ received thundering applause, following a cracking performance! That said, there are a few new numbers to be cherished such as ‘Cherry Tree Lane’, ‘Practically Perfect’ or ‘Brimstone And Treacle’ – performed by nanny from hell Miss Andrew (Wendy Ferguson) who also doubled as Queen Victoria in a most inspired scene set in a park where statues come to life. The magic and trickery of this production are unparalleled, you just don’t want it to end. You’d be a fool to miss it but hurry, for tickets are selling faster than one can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

MARY POPPINS – THE MUSICAL runs at the Edinburgh Festival Hall until 15th February. Further info and tickets via www.capitaltheatres.com

Photo: © by Danny Kaan