mary poppins broadway show review

Theater: New Amsterdam Theatre - 214 West 42nd Street
Schedule: Tuesday: 8:00 PM - Wednesday: 8:00 PM - Thursday: 8:00 PM - Friday: 8:00 PM - Saturday: 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM - Sunday: 3:00 PM

for tickets call go to www.tixx.com

Currently in Previews

Opens: Thursday, November 16, 2006



Mary Poppins, the musical based on the stories by P.L. Travers and the Oscar-winning 1964 Walt Disney film, comes to Broadway! Richard Eyre directs with co-direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne and additional choreography by Stephen Mear. The show features a book by Julian Fellows, and uses both the original film score by Robert and Richard Sherman and new songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.



Schedule beginning November 19: Tuesday - Saturday @ 8pm, Wednesday & Saturday @ 2pm, Sunday @ 3pm







I saw this show tonight. Seats C 10 and 12 in the orchestra which ended up being amazing seats. They were second row, on the sides, but we could see everything amazingly well.

The show started and about ten minutes in, there were some technical difficulties and teh show had to be stopped for about 15 minutes. However, by the end of the show, I had forgotten there were any problems at all.

I loved this show. Having seen all the Disney productions save for Lion King, I can honestly say this is my favorite by a long shot.

Ashley Brown is perfectly cast. She does an amazing job with the role of Mary Poppins. Her voice is crystal clear and pure and it is a blessing to the ears. I have heard her on the "On The Record" soundtrack but that doesn't do her gorgeous voice justice at all. She looked the part and her acting was fabulous. She was sassy and sweet and stern all at the same time. When she left at the end, I really didn't want her to go. She brought Mary Poppins to life. I am really hoping she scores a Tony nom for this because she shines in this role.

Gavin Lee was also great. He has a great voice and while I was very focused on Brown, he had that sweetness and likeability factor that makes Bert so fun to watch. His voice was great and I was impressed by him - I can see why he was such a hit in the London production.

I actually think that the whole cast was outstanding.

The kids were played by Henry Hodges and Katharine Doherty tonight. Katharine was outstanding, vocally. I was extremely impressed by how strong her voice was and Henry really had the comedic timing down pat.

Rebecca Luker and Daniel Jenkins had great chemistry. He was a great patriarch to the family and she was an excellent and poised Mrs. Banks. The whole cast really seemed to gel. Very believable.

Mark Price is underused in this. He plays Robertson Ay, the bumbly servant, but while he has a lot of stage time, he has no songs of his own and does very little.

Ruth Gotschall plays the "Holy Terror" - MR. Banks old nanny who comes in Act Two. She may only be on stage for short amounts of time, but she dazzles with an impressive song, hitting notes I had no idea she was capable of hitting. Another spectacular performance from her.
This show is visually stunning. From the flying effects to Bert walking on ceilings to Mary's magic bag, the show is incredibly welll done. It is very seamless (minus the technical difficulties) and teh house is incredible to watch in itself. I was so impressed by how realistic everything was.

The choreography left a little to be desired, but the tapping in "Step in Time" was very impressive and it's obvious that the rehearsals for this had to be tedious as the cast has a lot of difficult things to do. I also think the diction needs to be worked on. Some of the lines were lost due to the heavy accents at points, although once again, kudos to Katharine Doherty (who is from Boston) and had me completely convinced she was British.

Some little things can be cut and I do think that "Jolly Holiday" needs a little work, but this show is so fun. I don't think anyone can leave without a smile and Ashley Brown will warm your heart.