STAGE REVIEW: ‘Mary Poppins’

There’s a spoof video on YouTube where the original trailer of Disney’s 1964 film Mary Poppins has been re-edited as Scary Mary, a slasher movie. The thing is, it’s not far from the truth: Looked at soberly through adult eyes, Mary Poppins is less benevolent nanny who twitches her nose like a guest star on Bewitched, and more a mysterious immortal with telekenesis — Carrie White after menopause. She’s like Glinda the Good Witch: magical, but not to be trifled with. There are elements to P.L. Travers’ book series that recall Harry Potter, though it’s all basically a harmless fantasy-adventure series, with loosely related vignettes that don’t tell a cohesive story like Rowling does; the structure most of us are familiar with came with the Disney movie.

The stage version of Mary Poppins, now at the Music Hall for a two-week run courtesy of Dallas Summer Musicals, is less an adaptation of the movie musical than a hodgepodge of elements from the first three books, plus songs from film, plus eight new songs. As a result, it’s not quite loyal to any one source, picking through the scraps in the fossil record like a magpie. Gone are some songs and plot-points from the film (“I Love to Laugh” and the tea party on the ceiling; “Sister Suffragettes” and the entire political subplot about women’s independence, etc.), and added are more numbers, some of which slide surreptitiously under the radar, evocative of the original score (“Being Mrs. Banks,” “Practically Perfect”) and some of which do not (“Brimstone and Treacle,” “Temper, Temper”). The result is that the stage version is neither fish nor fowl — not a musical for purists of the books or the film. If you go in expecting one or the other, you’ll leave unsatisfied.

But taken on its own merits, this Mary has some charms, if not quite enough. The sets and costumes are flamboyantly colorful, and much of the stagecraft — including Mary’s carpetbag of endless contents, which produces all manner of items as if from a magician’s top hat, as well as the moment where Bert the chimney sweep dances upside-down — is impressive. And the two big production numbers (“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Step in Time”) are as rousing as Broadway bombast gets, while the actors are all in good form, full of energy and vocal power.

They are not helped, however, by the direction, which rushes from one moment to the next without pause. Songs like “The Perfect Nanny” — so delightfully simple and heartfelt in the film version — are sped through so as not to allow a second thought before we’re on to the next one. It’s as if the makers lack confidence in the material to stand on its own, and throw as much at the audience as possible to keep them distracted by the flaws. That leads to an exhausting, often frustrating feeling that you’re being given the bum’s rush.

The fact this tour removed the show’s most acclaimed stunt — at the end, where Mary has traditionally flown over the audience — is another disappointment, but ultimately, you’ll either be won over before then or have left at intermission. We stayed; that number with Bert is pretty fantastic, after all. And it’s nice to feel like a kid again.

NOTE: The cast of Mary Poppins will be performing at the Round-Up Saloon on Thursday, March 28, at 11 p.m. (right after their show) as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. A $20 suggested donation is requested.