Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Mary Poppins, Original Broadway Cast minus Cass Morgan (2007)
Cast: Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins), Gavin Lee (Bert), Delaney Moro (Jane Banks), Matthew Gumley (Michael Banks), Daniel Jenkins (George Banks), Rebecca Luker (Winifred Banks)
For complete information on this incredibly talented cast, see the official Mary Poppins website for the Broadway musical.
The cast of the Mary Poppins musical is truly amazing and I'm so glad that I got to see the rest of the show with the OBC. I was surprised that it was at TKTS, since Disney seems to avoid that no matter how badly shows are doing and the Original Broadway Cast is still in the show.
Naturally, they made a lot of changes from screen to stage, since there are some things that can't be done well in the theatre. We were all pretty happy with what they did to move Mary Poppins from the big screen to the stage. They did add one character that I didn't think was worth the time or trouble and a whole scene with giant toys that was pretty pointless, but there were some things that couldn't be done and I guess that's how they made up for what was missing.
If you go to see Mary Poppins on Broadway, beware of Cliff (who was working in the right center aisle in orchestra when we were there the first time and left center aisle this time. He has a huge attitude problem and yells at guest after guest. He toned it down once the show started, but we were all pretty blown away by how confrontational and rude he was for working at a Disney show with lots of children in the audience. Definitely a sign of how Disney has been in the last decade or so and that's sad.
The set and the cast are really wonderful and the Mary Poppins musical is well worth the trip. The closing scene definitely is wonderful, as are some of the other scenes in the second act. It was well worth going back to see the end of the musical. If you get a chance to see this, I'm sure it'll be on Broadway for AGES (Beauty and the Beast just finally closed this year to make way for The Little Mermaid). It's worth the trip, but beware that they allow kids to eat candy and cookies during the show, which can make for some annoying noises you don't typically hear in a Broadway theatre.
Grade: B+Labels: 2007, Ashley Brown, Broadway, Disney, family, Gavin Lee, musical, original