Before I review the 5th Avenue Theatre’s Production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins: The Broadway Musical (ain’t that a mouthful), I need to make a slight disclaimer. I think reviewers should admit to any issues, biases, or conflicts of interest that might sway the objectivity of their reviews. With this in mind, I need to confess to the massive crush I had on Mary Poppins as a child. I use the past tense for this crush when writing reviews or talking to my wife, but honestly, I just don’t know if I ever got over my infatuation with Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins.
As a boy, I didn’t really know how to describe what I was feeling, only that I really wished Mary Poppins would be my nanny. I knew that, unlike the Banks children, I would have always stayed just naughty enough to keep Mary Poppins from leaving me. And yes, I’m aware that sentence is probably more suitable for therapy than a theater review. What I’m trying to say, before someone says, “spit spot,” is my fandom of Mary Poppins definitely impacted my experience of the 5th Avenue Theatre’s presentation of Mary Poppins.
My fears were quickly allayed as I experienced a very lovely, well-rounded, heartfelt, and magical revisioning of the Mary Poppins movie I loved in my youth. And concerning the titular role of Mary Poppins, both Mallory Cooney King (first act) and Allison Standley (second act) “were practically perfect in every way.” Most nights you probably won’t see two Mary Poppins, but the production made the change after Mallory Cooney King’s voice showed some slight vocal strain in the first act.
In the second act, a new Poppins popped in, or more aptly floated in, and I was once again confronted with the reality of accepting another Mary Poppins other than the Julie Andrews of my youth. I think psychiatrists refer to this as exposure therapy. Good news for me, and for all those in attendance, Allison Standley aptly grabbed the baton, or should I say parrot umbrella, from her first act Mary Poppin’s predecessor and sang and danced the show to a delightful conclusion.
As far as the entire production, this stage version of Mary Poppins understands the strengths and weaknesses of the movie source material. The movie actually does not have a lot of plot beyond Mary Poppins being pretty cool in fanciful situations. That’s not really enough plot to make a two-act musical, although a similar plot brought us four John Wick movies. So, the theater version gives us a much better, three-dimensional, less stereotypical cringy version of the Banks family and the problems Mary Poppins will help fix before the closing of the final curtain. I hope that’s not a spoiler, that Mary Poppins will succeed in fixing the Banks family. I mean, she is Mary Freaking Poppins, the original John Wick; she gets the job done.
I particularly enjoyed how the stage production reordered and rearranged the most iconic songs from the film to make them even more Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I don’t think my wife as ever enjoyed any theater experience more than the spelling focused Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious number. She told me on the drive home that she wished the song had just kept going. As an earworm of a tune, it kind of does just keep going long after the show is over. Besides that silly word, show-stopper of a song, I thoroughly enjoyed the “Step in Time” number that came at just the right time to high kick the musical towards a satisfying conclusion.
This would be a good time to mention Danny Gardner as Bert, the street artist, lamp lighting, chimney sweeping, plot forwarding, toe tapping, dancing, singing, friend or is it more than friends friend of Mary Poppins. Although Gardner does not embrace Dick Van Dyke’s clearly accurate, not at all incorrect British accent, he does embody the joy and sweetness of Van Dyke’s original character, but adds a welcomed depth and wisdom missing from the movie.
The musical hints that Bert might also have some magic up his sleeves or in his smile and handshake. Danny Gardner seems to have some magic too. He truly gives us a wonderful performance. For Mary Poppins to shine, she needs a really good Bert. This is also true of Ernie from Sesame Street (sorry I grew tired of referencing John Wick from four movies my boys forced me to see against my better judgement).
The cast does an excellent job of representing the dysfunctional Banks bunch. Eric Ankrim as George Banks finds a way to make me feel sympathetic or even glad for him, even though he is a somewhat misogynistic banker. I was rooting for a collapse in the banking system, but you’ll have to see how that all turned out. Jazmin Gorsline as Mr. Banks’ too tolerant wife holds her own and does the hard work of convincing us that she loves Mr. Banks, even though he spends a fair amount of time mansplaining his toxic masculinity. And did I mention, he’s a banker.
A side note, Gorsline has a beautiful voice and I could definitely mention individually the beautiful voices of the leads and ensemble cast, but I just wanted to mention there was a moment in the show when listening to Gorsline sing that I thought, “My her voice is beautiful,” and then the show continued on.
The voices and acting talents at the 5th Avenue Theatre are so frequently and consistently strong, that I sometimes become complacent in how I process these events. There are moments you’ll experience at the 5th that you just can’t experience anywhere else in Seattle, and these moments are thoroughly excellent and good. I’d say they are even better than what one might experience watching four John Wick movies (don’t worry, my boys will not read this review).
I’m sorry, but I spent too much time writing about my boyhood infatuation with Mary Poppins to do justice in mentioning each member of the production. There are no weak members in the cast, and it is a joy to watch the large ensemble, with big song and dance numbers, fill the lushly lit stage.
But lest you think me cruel, I could not finish this review without mentioning the stellar work of the Banks children. On my night, Michael Banks was played by Liam Kuriatnyk and Jane Banks was performed by Gia Pellegrini. Sometimes I get nervous watching child actors on the stage and that nervousness keeps me from entering into the production. Kuriatnyk and Pellegrini did not make me nervous, they made me happy and engrossed in the show. They are truly a highlight of the production. I assume the actors they alternate their parts with will also bring smiles to other audiences. And on another sidenote, I’m responsible for my own anxieties and should never blame them on child performers; at least I think that’s what a therapist would say.
The musical brings plenty of heartfelt satisfaction to the nostalgic and big pay offs for our favorite songs, but it is by no means redundant or stale. The plot has enough new twists and turns, along with a few new characters, to make the night fresh and exciting. I won’t spoil the fun of the new, but I will say I enjoyed Mr. Banks’ upbringing backstory and I probably am going to have a couple clown nightmares in the future.
So, for holiday wonderment, head into downtown Seattle and pick up a couple tickets to Mary Poppins. If you don’t like musical theater and your spouse wants to go, stop being a Mr. Banks, take your medicine. Mary Poppins is a spoonful of sugar and if you made your spouse go to even one John Wick movie, the least you can do is have a jolly holiday with Mary.
Douglas Bursch is the author of Posting Peace: Why Social Media Divides Us and What We Can Do About It. He also hosts The Fairly Spiritual Show podcast.