“From props to costumes and everything in between, this production represents not only a labor of love but a look at the growth of CTC from a small community theatre to one that wants to be, and should be, taken seriously.” —Jasper Online
When this writer found reviewing Chapin Theatre Company’s ambitious musical, Mary Poppins, on my calendar for last night’s opening performance at Harbison Theatre, I consulted an expert on all things whimsical, uplifting, and fun, and brought along said expert with me to check out the performance. In the photo above, please see my 6-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Sara James, hugging her program as she waits for the show to get underway.
During the 15-minute intermission between the first and second acts, I asked my expert consultant what she thought so far and she responded that she gave it 4-and-a-half stars out of 5 and deemed it, just like the titular character Mary Poppins “practically perfect in every way.”
I would have to agree.
For starters, let’s give Chapin Theatre Company as many stars as possible for taking on such a challenging production in Mary Poppins – The Broadway Musical. The cast is huge, the vocal and physical requirements of the actors are demanding, the set is large and cumbersome, the costuming complex. And while this performance only slightly fell short on precious few of these challenges, it clearly was not for lack of effort.
This reviewer is not telling the noble team of volunteers devoted to creating and then manipulating the moveable set pieces anything they don’t already know when I write that the set for Mary Poppins is a bear! Heavy, somewhat awkward in places, and portable thanks to casters rather than the magically silent gliders that a Broadway set would have, we were impressed by the army of stagehands who stepped up to make the difficult scene transitions happen. It clearly wasn’t easy on opening night but, with repetition, we feel certain the process will become more comfortable. From props to costumes and everything in between, this production represents not only a labor of love but a look at the growth of CTC from a small community theatre to one that wants to be, and should be, taken seriously.
Evidence of this growth was on full view last night by virtue of an exceptionally strong cast of leading actors, well equipped with the needed chops to hit the high notes in all the right places. In the role of Mary Poppins, Celeste Mills simply nailed it. Her vocals were spot-on and her demeanor captured the anything-but-smug self-confidence the character is known for. Similarly, Gavin Slusher, in the role of Bert, was a delight, also delivering a performance nearing professional. Kudos to director Jami Steele Sprankle for work well done in bringing these characters to their fullest potential in this performance.
As George Banks, Jasper’s old friend Frank Thompson called on his years of stage experience and considerable vocal talents to also give a confident and nuanced performance. (Thompson once served as the theatre editor for Jasper Magazine.) Playing opposite Thompson as Winnifred Banks was Lisa Akly, who also delivered an excellent vocal performance, lacking just a bit of the dynamism expected from this character.
Accolades for standout performances should also be given to Ella Riley as Mrs. Brill, Christyne McClellan, who does double duty as the beautifully-voiced Bird Woman and the show’s music director, and Tiyon Ritter in the small but important role of John Northbrook. The roles of Jane and Michael Banks were double cast with Grace Bender and Libby Todd sharing the role of Jane, and Perry Dawson and Chase Duplaga that of Michael. We would like to be able to comment on these specific performances by actor’s name, but we may have missed an announcement of whose performance we were enjoying. Suffice it to say that the children we saw held their own quite well. The dueling aria performance between Lisa Baker in the role of George Banks’s old nanny, Miss Andrew, and Mary Poppins (Mills) was by far one of the highlights of the evening.
Another highlight for us was the full-cast rendition of Chimney Sweep Bert’s theme song, “Step in Time” delivered with power, grand enthusiasm, and (practically perfectly) tap shoes! The high energy number was engaging and exciting, making good use of Meredith Boehme’s choreographic skills. In fact, this reviewer would have liked to have seen more movement like this throughout the course of the play, finding the times when the cast seemed to stand sqquarely in a line to sing or speak, typically during scene changes, far less engaging. We also very much enjoyed the flights of fancy (see the play) experienced by Poppins (Mills) and, particularly Bert (Slusher), who took aerial dance to new heights for host Harbison Theatre.
Having prepped for this performance by watching both the 1964 film Mary Poppins and the 2018 Mary Poppins Returns, my co-reviewer and I agreed that the performance was a success, with her one exception: the songs do not appear in the same order as those in the film do and the storyline is slightly different. Not better or worse, just not the same. As the well-designed program tells us, this musical is based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Disney film. Original music and lyrics are by Richard and Robert Sherman, with the book by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes (2004) and new music by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Cameron Mackintosh was a co-creator. For my part, I found the diverging storyline to be meaningful and lovely. Where the original films ask the viewer to assess the relationship between a father and his children, the contemporary story looks more closely at how damaging the absence of a close relationship with one’s parent can be by examining George Banks’ (Thompson’s) upbringing by the iron-fisted Miss Andrew. Similarly, this iteration shows us the unhealthy results of traditional gender roles in the home by looking deeper at a socially-constructed weakness in George and Winnifred’s (Akly’s) marriage.
That said, we both enjoyed the performance immensely and felt pride in Chapin Theatre Company which is, literally, our local theatre, and we highly recommend readers book their tickets now lest they miss the opportunity to see this watershed moment in a theatre company’s growth and history.
Mary Poppins: The Broadway Musical runs through July 26th with shows on some days at 3 pm and on others at 7:30. Check the website for tickets and times.