Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
‘Mary Poppins’ fills Arkansas Public Theatre with joy and nostalgia.
Ed McClure, director of the Arkansas Public Theatre’s production of “Mary Poppins,” admits the large cast and tricky technical requirements of the show made it an ambitious choice for the Rogers-based theater.
“I saw a production of ‘Mary Poppins’ in New York, and I thought, ‘This is a great show, but how could it ever possibly work anywhere but in the New Amsterdam Theatre?’” McClure says at a rehearsal about a week before the show’s opening night. “I mean, you’re talking three-story houses that fly up in the air and stuff like that.”
Luckily, McClure and his cast and crew were up to the challenge.
“I always say, we try to approach shows like a cheap Broadway producer,” McClure says with a smile. “Everyone doubles and triples and quadruples in roles except for the primary characters … The ensemble is almost always on stage.”
As far as the difficult technical aspects, that’s where McClure got really creative.
“I remember seeing [‘Mary Poppins’] when I was young and thinking it was the first movie I had ever seen where it was live action with animation. I thought, ‘Why don’t we do a homage to the movie with live action and animation?’ So that’s why the set is monochromatic, because we project all of the different venues of the show, and we have animation going on throughout.”
Members of the cast mention seeing the movie as a child — and the accompanying nostalgia — frequently when discussing the production.
“It really makes you emotional, getting to step into these characters that we hold in such high esteem,” says Michael Myers, who plays Bert. “At first there might be a little self-doubt or worry — ‘Am I going to do it justice?’ — but when I get up there, and I put my costume on for the first time, and I look in the mirror and say, ‘Hello, Bert!’, it’s fantastic. It’s a spark unlike anything else you get in the theater.”
“We did grow up with it,” says Molly Klintworth, who plays Mary Poppins. “It has this spark of hope and positivity, and [it] just allows you to see the world in a different perspective — to stretch your way of thinking. I love that we get to do that for kids now and maybe kids who might not have been familiar with it before now.
“I think what ‘Mary Poppins’ especially does is it really shows you that anything can happen if you let it,” Klintworth adds. “As adults, you can say, ‘Oh, that’s so cheesy’, but we’re living it right now. Getting to play these roles is just … Dreams do come true!”
While most of the songs will sound familiar to audiences who have grown up with “Mary Poppins,” this stage musical of the beloved movie has added many new songs and orchestration. The result is a catchy score that invites seat dancing.
“It’s not just the songs from the movie — it’s been pumped up,” says musical director Lisa Auten. “They added a lot of chapters from the book that weren’t included in the movie.”
Auten says the score is a challenging one for the orchestra and actors alike. “There’s a lot of underscore orchestra music that plays, almost like another character. It’s setting the mood for every scene, so for the actors to time the patter of their actions and lines to go along with the music, as well, it’s challenging.”
The cast is clearly up to the challenge. During rehearsal, Klintworth has Mary’s sweet soprano and sly delivery down pat, and Myers is gangly and charming with a gorgeous, soaring baritone. The full ensemble nails the difficult, complex choreography of the show-stopping “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” with opening-night fervor.
“I want the audience to come in, sit down, take a deep breath and be a kid again,” Myers says. “Allow your heart and mind to be open in this time you’re sharing with us.”