For around a month when I was 8 years old, I had a routine. Every day when I got home from school, I would turn on the VHS player and watch the same tape: Mary Poppins. I’ve seen it more times than I can count and would hazard a guess that I am more familiar with it than any other movie. Funnily enough, until recently I had never seen Mary Poppins performed on stage. To be honest, I wasn’t even aware that it had been developed into a musical, first on West End and then, two years later, on Broadway. Now that I think about it, I’m surprised it wasn’t turned into a stage play sooner than 2004. Mary Poppins is everything you’d expect from musical theater — it’s a show all ages can enjoy.
Theatre Memphis’ production of Mary Poppins has had “phenomenal sales,” according to director of marketing and communications Randall Hartzog. Audience members are encouraged to recycle their programs as almost every performance is already sold out.
Sitting in the Lohrey Theatre before a Sunday matinee, I notice there are numerous families with small children in attendance. Directly in front of me, a family of three asks if I will take their picture — it’s their little boy’s first time seeing a live show. Behind me are two more children, although one of them moves next to me during the first few minutes, his mother’s lap being a more preferable seat. Listening to his guileless commentary was an unexpected, yet welcomed, added bonus to my theater experience.
To my surprise, and in spite of my childhood obsession with the story, there were many new things to be discovered about Mary Poppins, including scenes that are altogether absent from the 1964 Disney film. I was also glad to take note of themes relevant to our cultural experience in 2023 that went over my head as a child. The mighty character of George Banks, for example, can be seen on the surface as a basic absentee-father-stock-character mired in patriarchal gender roles. However, in taking a closer look, it’s obvious that George Banks is more dynamic than static, and modern audiences might interpret his character as a manifestation of breaking generational trauma.
The musical number “Playing the Game” is another part of the onstage production that departs from the Disney film, during which the toys in Jane and Michael’s nursery come to life in response to being mistreated. It brought to mind that scene in Toy Story when Sid’s toys come out from under his bed, and I would be remiss not to include the reaction I overheard from the boy sitting beside me. As multiple toys crawled out of the wings and even out of the set itself (it was the fireplace that really got me), I heard from my right, “What the …” A few moments later, the same voice whispered, “Mom, I’m scared.” Me too, kid.
On the whole, though, the musical was uplifting, and any time the ensemble came together in choreography, it was a treat to behold. The complicated, fast-paced synchronicity in numbers such as “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Jolly Holiday” was performed without a hitch. The elaborate and frequent costume changes added to the overall visual spectacle achieved by these full-scale musical numbers.
Russell Lehman’s performance as Bert stood out in particular. Bert acts as a sort of narrative guide throughout the show, orchestrating scene changes and introducing scenes as a central cog in the machinery of the production. Lehman’s energy and enthusiasm shone on stage and seemed to buoy the other cast members.
It’s always encouraging to me, as a person who fell in love with the stage at the tender age of 10, to see enthusiastic theater audiences filled with multiple generations. Fortunately, Memphis is a city with many opportunities to introduce kids and first-time theatergoers to the magic of live performance. Theatre Memphis’ Mary Poppins is a perfect example of one such opportunity, and I am grateful to have been a part of it.
Mary Poppins runs through July 2nd at Theatre Memphis.