Musical Theatre: Mary Poppins

Disney and Cameron MacKintosh
Crown Theatre,
11 October 2023
Reviewed by Erin Hutchinson

When I was a kid in Brisbane in the mid-’60s, we’d only just recovered from the onset of Beatlemania before we got whacked by Julie Andrews-frenzy. By some quirk of the tryranny of distance, the first blow was struck by My Fair Lady (the Courier Mail was full of stories of people who’d seen it 100 times) and then, hot on its heels the fabulous frolic that was Mary Poppins.
Nearly 60 years later the allure of these shows has hardly dimmed, as Turnstiles' illustrious guest reviewer Erin Hutchinson found out last week at Crown. Take it away, Erin! (DZ)

Stephanie Jones sweeps us off our feet as Mary Poppins

From the moment the lights dimmed as whispered projection of umbrella-holding Mary Poppins crossed the curtain and we were reminded to turn off phones and open our sweets, I knew we were in for a treat.
And boy, was it a big spoonful of musical theatre sugar.
Now nearly 19 years old, the stage musical version of Mary Poppins stands up well as a magical story of the importance of kindness, fun and family – and you just know all the songs are so singable.
The stage show takes elements of the original children’s books by P.L.Travers, combines with the 1964 film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, adjusts the storyline a smidgeon with a few more songs, and snap! Success.
More than the movie, the stage show hones in on the dynamics of the Banks family, exposing toxic behaviour and relationships whilst encouraging growth and connection.
Bert, played with physical finesse by Jack Chambers, serves as narrator and, working with the storybook folding set, unveils the (desperately in need of love and fun) Banks household.
Chambers has great chemistry with the show's star, Stephanie Jones, playing the iconic Mary Poppins, and both evoke the instantly recognisable sounds and moves of Andrews and Van Dyke whilst making the roles their own.
In this production the bond between the two characters adds to the otherworldliness and magic of them as agents of change as they dance, glide and guide us through with expert skill.
The wonderful young talents Makayla Healy and Sebastian Sero performed the naughty children in need of a nanny, Jane and Michael. The pair were terrific, and their slickness of delivery and beautiful voices were sustained from start to finish. Their sibling relationship and excitement for life is evident and got plenty of chuckles from the audience.
Tom Wren and Lucy Maunder, as the parents George and Winifred Banks, are sublime. Wren reveals a nuanced Mr Banks whose return to youthful joy is just so satisfying, and Maunder has a wonderful moment (amongst others) as the former ‘actress’ Mrs Banks, kicking up her heels in some can-can moves that had me and my dance-teacher date in fits of giggles.
If there’s a major flaw with the changes to the story for the stage though, it lay in this character, in the film a proactive suffragette but in the stage production reduced to a kept wife.
That is not to say the show is lacking in fab female parts, with Mary, the Bird Woman (the evergreen Patti Newton), the intimidating Miss Andrew (Chelsea Plumley) and supernatural supplier of gingerbread stars, Mrs Corry (Cherine Peck). It’s wonderful to see so many women with great parts on stage!
A standout was Helen Walsh (Mrs Brill), who performed seamlessly throughout and whose timing works superbly with the comic delivery of Gareth Isaac (Robertson Ay).
The choreography by Stephen Mear and Matthew Bourne is incredibly layered and detailed, and the ensemble is talented and oh-so tight. Geoffrey Castles leads a quality band, and the new sound design by Paul Gatehouse is effective, particularly in the kitchen-that-goes-wrong scene. Some of the balance between the vocal mic levels and band was out at times, muffling some of the singing at the openings of number, but this was likely a flaw in the sound in the Crown Theatre rearing its ugly head rather than the production itself. 
For all its delights, the most impressive element of the show is the extraordinary scenic design by Bob Crowley, who also designed costumes. There’s foldout set pieces, flies, tracks, puppetry, projection – the list goes on. It was inspiring, entrancing and altogether supercali-fantastic!
Directors Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne have done an outstanding job with this production. It’s nearly done with its tour to Perth, and the great box office it been doing is testament that this Mary Poppins is an absolute joy and guaranteed to have you toe-tapping your way out at the final curtain.