Mary Poppins.
The biggest surprise for Stage Whispers on opening night came when Cameron Mackintosh revealed to our Editor Neil Litchfield at the after show party how he managed to snare ex-pat Australian music theatre superstar Phillip Quast to play Mr Banks.
Mackintosh and Quast met by chance in the bathroom of a top London theatrical eatery, where Quast expressed his desire to return home to Australia.
Mackintosh suggested that Quast play the role of Mr Banks in Australia, and their chance encounter has paid big dividends for Australian audiences.
Phillip Quast (pictured reading a story about himself in the current edition of Stage Whispers) completes a stellar cast, the likes of which is rarely assembled on the music theatre stage, in a production that is ‘practically perfect in every way’.
Like Mary herself, I say ‘practically perfect’ because it is a little on the long side for little ones, but perhaps it is a good thing to train them for long sits in the theatre.
For traditional lovers of music theatre there is the sparkling music first penned by the (American) Sherman Brothers and embellished by (British team of) Stiles and Drewe.
Apparently the writer of Mary Poppins - Pamela Travers insisted to Cameron Mackintosh that the British writers complete the stage adaptation of Mary Poppins owing to her residual displeasure at what Walt Disney did to the movie adaptation.
The Australian born Miss Travers never saw the stage adaptation – I suspect she would have enjoyed it more than the film.
Verity Hunt-Ballard as Mary Poppins had the unenviable task of stepping into the shoes of Julie Andrews.
She was as prim and proper as any magical nanny you might come to expect.
Matt Lee made a far better fist of Bert than the garbled British accent produced by Dick Van Dyke, although I did not think he quite looked old enough to be a possible match for Mary.
Phillip Quast and Marina Prior as Mr and Mrs Banks were the solid foundations of the production.
Aiding the cast was a delightful set, which resembled a pop out story book, sparkling choreography and a special trick at the end which made the audience gasp.
It was a night with plenty of sparkle. Even the chimney sweeps managed to wear an equal share of soot and glitter.
David Spicer
Having been delighted by the theatrical magic of Mary Poppins in Melbourne last year, I was even more dazzled by the illusions in the Sydney incarnation of the magical musical production at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre.
Against the backdrop of the Capitol’s vast atmospheric ceiling you really do believe that this quirky nanny can fly. The theatre’s elaborate statuary, too, gets in on the act during the scene in the park.
Matt Lee’s most spectacular gimmick has Bert also been even more effectively engineered.
The story of P.L. Travers’ mystical nanny, a wise supernatural being who pops up to sort out the problems of the dysfunctional Banks family, works delightfully on a pure fantasy family show level, but what really engages a grown-up audience is the utter humanity wrapped up in that fantasy for the stage version. There’s plenty of resonances in our post GFC world.
In my interview with Philip Quast, who plays Mr Banks (in our May / June print edition), he says “Richard Eyre (the director of Mary Poppins) says this show is called, in his own words, ‘The Denouement of George Banks,’ and I suspect in some ways he’s the one who has got the big journey in the show.” That’s indicative of the satisfying central deeper level that this production finds from the darker source material, substantially softened in the somewhat cornier film version.
Stars merely twinkle, so any metaphor for the sheer musical theatre firepower assembled needs to stretch well up the cosmic scale. From relative newcomers Verity Hunt-Ballard and Matt Lee in the leads, supported in key roles by established musical theatre stars like Marina Prior and Philip Quast, a big name player like Debra Byrne in a minor role, to great comic timing from Sally-Anne Upton and Christopher Rickerby, as the servants, and cameos from David Henry, there’s nothing that vaguely resembles a weak link.
Add the gifted Australian ensemble, energising Matthew Bourne’s showstopping choreography, and you’re almost in Super Nova territory. Musical Director Michael Tyack’s orchestra, too, is absolutely top-notch.
While the physical production duplicates the version honed in the West End and on Broadway, every chat I’ve had with cast members indicates the broad freedom they were given to exercise their individual creativity within that structure to make this production fresh and new-minted.
Cameron Mackintosh throws great opening night parties, which parallel the class of his theatrical productions. Sydney Town Hall, spectacularly illuminated inside and out, had the buzz of another out-and-out Mackintosh hit.
Neil Litchfield
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We chat with Philip Quast in the May / June print edition of Stage Whispers. Purchase a copy online or at your newsagent.
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