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Mary Poppins is a kind of Super-nanny who flies in with her umbrella in response to the request of the Banks children and proceeds to put things right with the aid of her rather extraordinary magical powers.
The Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch is an intimate space, but like Mary Poppins’s magic bag, it proved to be more than capable of holding quite a few fun surprises. The theater has kicked off its run of “Mary Poppins,” the stage production of the beloved book series and film, set to run until November 22nd. The set design is admirably versatile, and allows for quick and creative location changes, and the cast exhibited an abundance of charm and talent.
The story of “Mary Poppins” has permeated pop culture enough to make it familiar even to those who haven’t seen the movie or the stage play, but here goes – set in early 20th Century England, Mary Poppins is a mysterious, magical nanny, who appears at the doorstep of the Banks family without warning. They may not have asked for her, but the Banks children – Jane and Michael – sorely need someone like her to keep their spirits high and their behavior in check. Of course, we eventually find that the person who most needs Mary’s help is their father, George Banks, a tightly-wound banker whose responsibilities have separated him from his humanity. Musicals being musicals, the story is driven by song and dance.
The cast in “Mary Poppins” managed both the character work and the musical demands of the show with aplomb. As the eponymous Mary Poppins, Kate Dressler played the character with a welcome frankness, with glimpses of weary honesty that helped the otherwise impeccably charming and poised nanny feel refreshingly relatable. She also conveyed true warmth, and showed an affecting sadness when she had to leave the Banks family behind. Dan Servetnick managed to convey both sides of George Banks – when he was meant to be stern and cold, he was stern and cold, but he found subtle ways to let the character’s decency poke through the steely facade (the steadfast affection of his wife, Winifred Banks, played by Elisa Danielle James, also helped considerably). Lauren Scott and Parker Niksich played Jane and Michael Banks, and the precocious kids can absolutely keep up with their adult co-stars; both of them nailed the personalities of their characters, and excelled in demanding roles that would overwhelm many adults (myself very much included).
The one real setback in the show was the sound – it could be difficult at a few points to hear characters when they were singing, which can hopefully be addressed at a technical level. This was the debut performance, so a few quirks are certainly forgivable. As for the dancing, everyone seemed to excel at the demands of the show’s choreography, which involved several intricate and well-coordinated sequences. Watching the cast move with precision and grace on such a small stage – especially during numbers where the stage was so packed it seemed hard to breathe, let alone dance – was impressive. The dancers also did well incorporating the children, who were young enough to need assistance on some of the more involved moves (seeing dancers assist Jane in getting up and down set pieces that were too big for her to navigate on her own was downright adorable).
“Mary Poppins” is a winsome show, and a great option for a night out with the family. Midway through our performance, the smoke alarms were set off (which, of course it would happen in a place called the Firehouse Theatre). When I looked around the crowd, I saw that the audience was struggling to tune out the bleating horns and strobes, so that they could return to the action on stage. They were completely won over by the show, and had no desire to return to reality. If you’re surprised to hear that a local production in a small theatre can captivate an audience that thoroughly, I’ll borrow a line from Mary Poppins and remind you that “Anything can happen, if you let it.”
Now playing at the Firehouse Theatre in Farmers Branch November 5-22
