It has been over a year since Mary Poppins stopped captivating audiences in its original home in The Prince Edward theatre in London's West End. Now everyones favorite nanny is out on the road and is touring throughout the UK in a year long venture, and last night I had the delight of going to see the show in Manchesters Palace theatre.
The musical is based on the 1964 film starring the wonderful Julie Andrews and the book that inspired it. Fans of the film will be thrilled to know that many of songs featured in the film, and written by the Shermann Bros, remain in the stage show. New songs have also been written in a similar style by Styles and Drew.
The staging of the show is very much like it was in London. The scenery is spectacular - much better than any touring show I've seen. The lighting is particularly good, transporting you from the bank to the rooftops of London to Mary Poppins wonderland in a matter of seconds! The house has been slightly scalled down from the London production and appears to fold out now rather than appear as one solid set like it did in London, were it was set on three levels - the top most level dropping to ground level when it was in use. There are some nice new props though with Mary Poppins bed appearing from a pull out drawer in "Practically Perfect" - a lovely song that wouldn't be out of place in the film.
The new additions to the film generally fit in quite nicely. Mrs Andrews is a particularly nasty character who wants to poison the children with her "Brimstone and Treacle". Mrs Correy adds some colour to the famous Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious scene and the show is frightened up with the chilling "Temper, Temper!" when all the toys in the nursery come alive to give the children a telling off! The finale of the show centres around a new songs called "Anything can happen", which adds even more spectacle to the show, whilst hitting the audience over the head with another morale, but it works quite well and the tune is a catchy little number!
The choreography of the show is delightful. Matthew Bourne has created complex routines which give extra oumph to the piece and help move the story along. It is a highly energetic show. One such highlight is in an early park scene where all the statues come to life.
The performances are to be commended all around. Lisa O'Hare brought out a cheekyness to Mary Poppins which is much needed. She added life to the character who, if you think about it, is quite a rude person! After all, she never brings references because she thinks they're "old fashioned". And she dictates her evenings off! Lisa's vocals were also very good - you could hear every syllabel that she was singing. The lady who played the bird woman was also very good - she evoked alot of emotion from the character and sang "feed the birds" incredibly. The children playing Jane and Michael were good - their acting in particular was outstanding - much better than their voices. They had a natural chemistry with eachother which made it incredibly easy to believe that they were siblings.
There were however, elements which maybe didn't work so well. The show is, at 2h 45 mins including the interval, slightly long and so smaller children may get slightly restless. But having said that, there are several set pieces which will keep most children enthralled throughout the show - not least Bert walking around the procenium arch or the finale, which I wont spoil if you've yet to see the show. All in all, the show was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!
8/10
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