Walking into the theatre space at the Jewish Community center in Louisville felt very like entering a high school gym doubling as a playing space. It was Mach 16th, the opening night of Center Stage’s production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s musical Mary Poppins. The musical was based on the stories of P. L. travers and the Walt Disney film, with original music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The book was written by Julian Fellows, and new songs and additional music was composed by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Lighting and properties design was done by Theresa Bagan, scenic and costume design by John R. Leffert, and sound design by Aaron Thompson. The playing space was nothing to speak of certainly. Before
…show more content…
I have taken the liberty over the years to do even more research on the backstory of the original Disney film, and was delighted when the follow up movie was released, Saving Mr. Banks. The story of P. L. Travers is truly fascinating. However, I will not waste time delving into that too much, other than to say that I was very excited to see this production, and had already had a love of the tale being told beforehand. The story begins with the children, Jane and Michael, played by Ruthie Belza and Finnegan Broyles, respectfully, bickering with their current nanny, who promptly leaves her post. Mr. and Mrs. Banks, converse about placing and advertisement for a new, stricter, nanny. Mr. Banks is very adamant about the rigidness of the proposed new nanny. The children come down the stairs with a proposal of their own. Mr. Banks proceeds to read their whimsical and heart felt requests, and then burn them in the fire place, with is rather symbolic to the plot now that I think about it. However, Mary Poppins shows up on Cherry Tree Lane, answering the children’s advertisement, holding the very copy that Mr. bans had just burned. The first act proceeds to tell us of Mary’s adventures with the two children, and the lessons learned along the way. We of course meet Burt along the way, the infamous chimney sweep, who is quite smitten with Mary Poppins. It is my understanding that after the first act, the play takes a shift and …show more content…
Banks. Josh Gilliam was supposed to play the role, and was unable to be there on opening night, due to and unfortunately times family emergency. The understudy stepped up to play the role. However, the entire time he was on stage, he was holding a scrip that was often poorly disguised as a prop. He was always looking down while reading, and did not project well at all. As it could be argued that he is the antagonist, this took away from the overall flow and fluidity of the play. It was a cringe worthy performance at best. Even if the intended actor was present however, the show would still have only passed as a dress rehearsal at best. Countless lines were forgotten, no one knew their blocking- which lead to numerous awkward pauses and wandering around the stage, and the scenery was changed by cast members that were in loud and distracting costumes that did not appear until later in the production. It was
I have taken the liberty over the years to do even more research on the backstory of the original Disney film, and was delighted when the follow up movie was released, Saving Mr. Banks. The story of P. L. Travers is truly fascinating. However, I will not waste time delving into that too much, other than to say that I was very excited to see this production, and had already had a love of the tale being told beforehand. The story begins with the children, Jane and Michael, played by Ruthie Belza and Finnegan Broyles, respectfully, bickering with their current nanny, who promptly leaves her post. Mr. and Mrs. Banks, converse about placing and advertisement for a new, stricter, nanny. Mr. Banks is very adamant about the rigidness of the proposed new nanny. The children come down the stairs with a proposal of their own. Mr. Banks proceeds to read their whimsical and heart felt requests, and then burn them in the fire place, with is rather symbolic to the plot now that I think about it. However, Mary Poppins shows up on Cherry Tree Lane, answering the children’s advertisement, holding the very copy that Mr. bans had just burned. The first act proceeds to tell us of Mary’s adventures with the two children, and the lessons learned along the way. We of course meet Burt along the way, the infamous chimney sweep, who is quite smitten with Mary Poppins. It is my understanding that after the first act, the play takes a shift and …show more content…
Banks. Josh Gilliam was supposed to play the role, and was unable to be there on opening night, due to and unfortunately times family emergency. The understudy stepped up to play the role. However, the entire time he was on stage, he was holding a scrip that was often poorly disguised as a prop. He was always looking down while reading, and did not project well at all. As it could be argued that he is the antagonist, this took away from the overall flow and fluidity of the play. It was a cringe worthy performance at best. Even if the intended actor was present however, the show would still have only passed as a dress rehearsal at best. Countless lines were forgotten, no one knew their blocking- which lead to numerous awkward pauses and wandering around the stage, and the scenery was changed by cast members that were in loud and distracting costumes that did not appear until later in the production. It was