Mary Poppins: The Extracalifragilistic Experience

My son and I went to the second, and final, youth theater performance of Mary Poppins last night at the Fulton. Wow! Just, wow! Those kids were fantastic! So much so that it was easy to forget that they were kids and just get lost in enjoying the show.

So many of the actors were spot-on: Emily Homburger as Mary, Jonathan Eaton as Bert, and Jose Mangual as George. Jessica Reynolds' gorgeous voice soared from the Bird Woman's rags, and Jeremy Beveridge stole his scenes as the servant Robertson Ay. I heard rumor that the casting process was arduous and the rehearsal schedule grueling, but the work paid off.

The teens--something like 70 of them--ran the entire performance, including all of the behind-the-scenes work, with the help of the Fulton staff and mentors from the recent adult production. We saw the Main Stage version two weeks ago (and saw the original on Broadway), so we knew what they were up against--and they nailed it. They hit the notes, made the cues, and embodied the characters. They even dealt with a couple of on-stage costume issues with absolute professionalism. This is the first time Disney, which owns the rights to the show, has allowed a youth production, and I very much hope a representative was in the house to see that their trust was upheld by the Fulton and the entire cast and crew.

We went in large part because four of our teen friends were participating behind the scenes, but we enjoyed it because it was nothing short of supercalifragilisticexpialadocious! Kudos to the Fulton for taking a risk on the production, and a huge congratulations to all of the young professionals who participated!