Such potential. Such promise. Such a stellar cast. This show should be magical. And yet this production fell flat and left me cold.
Visually, this show is something special to behold. The inside of Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane is magnificently detailed, and the transitions between the different sections of the house are so clever. The through-the-picture scene is like an MGM technicolour musical (I particularly liked the penguin in the pram), and the Shop of Conversation is a magical safe haven. However, the audience isn’t given sufficient time to truly appreciate the spectacular visuals. The transitions and pace are so fast that, before you know it, the next scene has begun, and the scenes are so busy that you can’t take everything in. For example, everything happens so quickly in ‘A Spoonful Of Sugar’, without ceremony or attention being drawn to what is happening, that the audience misses out on Mary’s magic.
I think that there were also some sound issues, because the lyrics at the start of numbers seemed to get lost under the music, and some of the dialogue wasn’t particularly clear.
Initially, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why this show left me cold, but then I realised that it was because there was no light or shade to the characterisations. Everything was very one dimensional, superficial and flat. Michael has a line towards the end of the show where he indicates that it is strange when Mary Poppins is being nice and that he prefers her when she is being cross and asks her to be cross. Mary’s next line is said crossly, but it struck me that this was the first time that she really appeared to be anything other than cordially polite. I felt that there needed to be more depth of character, and more letting the ‘practically perfect’ mask slip, especially around Bert and the children when they are not listening/not around/asleep. Mary Poppins is supposed to have an air of mystery and magic, but also a human side, and greater glimpses of that would help round the character and give her a little more substance.
I actually think that all the characterisations would benefit from more depth, variation and substance, as most felt like caricatures being played for laughs or boos. That might appeal to the younger audience members, being more pantomime than drama, but it is pretty painful for the adults. For example, I found Robertson Ay’s ‘disaster scene’ in the kitchen so incredibly painful and awkward to watch - it really was like a bad pantomime.
The original movie and characterisations are iconic and, although aspects of the film were very stylised and silly, my memory is that Julie Andrews’ characterisation was varied and expressive. Julie Andrews is Mary Poppins for so many people, and throughout the show I found myself expecting her voice, delivery and intonation. Given the iconic nature of the film, this show has a lot to live up to, and I think that it either needs to play it in substantially the same way as the movie, or find some unique clever way to make it its own. This production is currently sitting somewhere between the two, but it isn’t quite working.
To be fair, that might be due, in part, to the fact that this show is still in previews and things are still being worked on. But the show is most definitely not helped by the fact that, other than the songs from the movie, the music is pretty unmemorable. For me, although ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ was fun, the show only truly began to sparkle with ‘Step In Time’. There was a frisson of excitement, both on stage and in the audience, and this number, half way through the second act, was the first time that the show really came to life and showed the audience what it could do. It was a fantastic number, wonderfully choreographed and brilliantly performed, and it left me and everyone else in the audience smiling. If the pace of the other numbers, particularly the classics from the film, was slightly slowed down, and made slightly less busy so that the audience could take it all in, then there could be some truly show-stopping moments.
I love Zizi Strallen and Charlie Stemp - I think that they are absolutely fantastic - but this show isn’t currently showing them at their best. With stunning costumes (I loved Mary Poppins’ different coloured coats in every scene), fantastic sets, iconic numbers, and so much talent on stage, this show has so much potential, but it just isn’t reaching it yet. As I say, this could be due to the show still being in previews, and I hope that it is just that - I really want this show to be the show that I remember seeing 15 years ago and wow a new audience.