ARTS NET, Tampa Bay*

How do you review a play based on Disney’s “Mary Poppins?”

Knowing Disney’s reputed litigious nature, I’m almost afraid to say ANYTHING for fear of lawsuit.  Well, since I don’t have any money for them to take from me anyway, here we go:  Of course, growing up in the 1960s, I must have seen the movie starring Julie Andrews a half-dozen times in my childhood (although I have never seen the movie in adulthood).  All that, combined with me being a middle-aged man, nearly made me decide not to go.  Bolstered by my neighbor’s willingness to go along for the show, I put my trepidations aside and went. 

I attended the Media Night premier on May 21.  In short, I’m very glad I did. 

After seeing the stage show (It truly is a stage show and not a play), I had to absorb the experience for a day before deciding upon how to approach a review.  It was simultaneously precisely what I expected, and nothing at all what I thought it would be.

The obvious:  Disney.  Anyone who has ever gone to a Disney theme park knows Disney’s propensity for overdoing everything, yet overdoing everything expensively and well.  Mary Poppins was no exception to this Disney rule.  From the first two notes of the overture, we knew it was going to be entertaining.  An amber spotlight shone on the head and arms of the conductor in the orchestra pit (maybe the credited Music Director, James Dodgson?  Not sure because there was no Conductor credit for the performance).  The conductor enthusiastically gestured and flailed his arms over his head and exuded aerobic energy throughout the performance, conducting the unseen orchestra (cleverly concealed under black netting) while also providing timing cues to the actor/singers onstage.  The conductor was a show of his own!  Thing is, it was impossible to know what was live orchestra and what was prerecorded.  This both disturbed and impressed me.  It sounded like everything was performed from the orchestra pit but, knowing Disney, the clever black netting probably concealed secret speakers and a combination of animatronic music droids and indentured slaves from third-world countries who had musical talent.  That was mean, sorry…  Please don’t sue me.

One thing really did disappoint me:  The sound support for the actors.  Discretely hidden head microphones (I couldn’t see a single one of them) allowed the actors’ voices to be amplified and heard more clearly.  Great idea, poor execution.  In a very un-Disney manner, the dialog was thin and tinny, and that coupled with the artificial British accents of the actors, made it completely impossible to understand half the dialog.  I hope they are able to fix this problem for future performances.

The persistent sound problem was the only real problem I noticed throughout the entire evening.  It was like attending a ride at a Disney theme park, with the uncomfortable, ill-padded seats at the Straz Center instead of the comfortable strap-in seats in a flight simulator. 

Complex lighting effects dazzled, moving stage sets and elements impressed and distracted, costumes wowed, actors periodically flew around in the air or walked upside-down around the stage aperture (no kidding), marble statues came to life and sang while pirouetting through ballet steps, and things happened so quickly and seamlessly that they almost seemed impossible. 

The performers were generally outstanding, not only delivering their lines convincingly but singing and dancing and truly putting on a Broadway-style show for laid-back Tampa Bay dwellers.  In the six years I have been attending various shows in Tampa Bay, I have never witnessed such an elaborate and slick production.  Bravo Disney!

Even the children in the audience were, for the most part, struck silent.  Personally, I enjoyed the new take on the old story.  All of the familiar songs were there, complete with modern choreography, new arrangements, some updated and slightly more adult lyrics.  There were many new songs, all in-character with the story, and many excellent excuses for people to dance and be joyful.  I smiled throughout the entire performance.

Gavin Lee as Bert was brilliant.  His modest baritone voice and homey demeanor were ideal to the role.  He also dances (that’s what they originally said about Fred Astaire). 

Blythe Wilson was outstanding as Winifred banks, and was quite distracting because she looks, moves, and sounds like Julie Andrews.  My neighbor kept saying, “They should have cast her as Mary Poppins.”  She brought a little color to an otherwise beige role.  Honestly, the only reason that can see for not casting her as Mary Poppins is that she appears to be a mezzo and the actress who played Mary Poppins, Caroline Sheen, appears to be a soprano.  That is all I will say about Caroline Sheen, except that I understand it seems both expedient and challenging to have a famous uncle.

Stand-outs in the performance included Q. Smith as Mrs. Corry, who was just delightful, and Ellen Harvey (!) as Miss Andrew.  I believe Ellen Harvey was simultaneously channeling Margaret Hamilton (Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz”) and Agnes Morehead (Endora in the 1960s television series “Bewitched”).  Her brief role made the entire audience laugh and cheer, and she truly stole Act II!  I predict that we will see Ellen Harvey in major stage roles very soon.

Being Media Night, the audience was peppered with minor local luminaries from the news media.  My neighbor would point and say, “Look, it’s…” while people glared at her and I winced.  There was even an after-party but, since it was past my bedtime, I decided just to go home after the performance. 

After the intermission, I switched seats with my neighbor.  The fidgety child from down the row of seats had been moved by his father to sit next to me, and the ill-padded seat I was originally in had so wracked my back that I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit through another hour… and I don’t even have back problems normally!  After the seat sawp, I sat next to a self-important humorless man in a wool suit who, when I jokingly attempted to negotiate elbow position on the armrest, brusquely replied, “I don’t care what you do.”  I quietly thought to myself, “Jerk.”  The man resembeled Garrison Keillor but was notably much less genial than I would hope Mr. Keillor would be.  Sadly, I’ve found this rude, humorless tone to be typical of Tampa audiences at many events I’ve attended, with the notable exception of opera performances, where audience members have all been smiling, friendly, happy and quite genial.  Hmmm…  Maybe it’s just me. 

Incidentally, the jerk ended up hogging the entire armrest.  Anyway…

There were brilliant and impressive effects, gloriously dazzling lighting, amazing moving sets, catchy songs, fun dialog (what could be understood through the fake accents over the bad sound support), and wonders and joys from beginning to end. 

I really should have gone to the cast party.  Please don’t hold it against me that I decided to go home instead.

Mary Poppins will run through June 6 at the Straz Center (formerly the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center) in Tampa.  For more information, visit their website at http://tbpac.org.