BY MIKE WARING - JULY 2006

As part of our rigorous program of scouting out Disney entertainment options from around the world -- no matter the personal cost to our marriage, our sanity, or our bank account -- we attended the Mary Poppins stage musical in London. The current show opened in late 2004 in England and will be opening on Broadway later this year.

The stage musical is fairly faithful to the movie and will be quite familiar to anyone who's seen the movie, although there are several new characters, the most significant of which is an evil nanny who appears halfway through the play. (I'm not sure how the theatrical version compares to the book, as I never read it as a child and am not really conversant with that version of the story.)

Anyway, as I say, the plot is familiar, with slight alterations: Children in an upper-middle-class home in 1910 London are driving their nannies to distraction, and departure, through their antics. The children long to have a nanny who will listen to and play with them, and be their friend; the parents are preoccupied with their own careers and outside interests.

In the movie, the mother was involved in suffragette activities that took her away from the house for extended periods. The play leaves this aspect of the mother out, and it's unclear what her outside interests are. In any case, the children are looking for a newer, nicer nanny and one soon appears: Mary Poppins. The children and the nanny embark on a number of adventures, and after some time the parents come to the realization that their children are precious and they still have things to learn from them. Her job complete, Mary Poppins departs, off to find another family to torment or delight -- your choice.

Most of the musical numbers that are so memorable in the movie are included, along with several new ones. The new musical numbers all fit in well with the older songs and the overall effect is quite entertaining. One notable exclusion is "I Love to Laugh," the song from the scene with Uncle Albert, who is caught on the ceiling because he can't stop laughing. This was an understandable choice, I believe, as the scene would have been difficult to stage, and it was one of the weakest songs in the movie anyhow.

Mary was relieved that "Jolly Holiday" was included in the stage version. I suspect she is fond of the lyrics, such as "Oh, it's a jolly 'oliday with Mary, Mary makes your 'eart so light! When the day is gray and ordinary, Mary makes the sun shine bright! ... It's a jolly 'oliday with Mary, No wonder that it's Mary that we love!" Or perhaps it's the music she likes, and the name is merely a coincidence.

The major difference between the play and the movie is the lack of the animated sequences that were such an integral part of the fantastical fun in the original movie. There are no dancing penguins or racing merry-go-round horses. The play's substitution is a magical interlude in the park with walking, talking statues (apparently drawn from the original books), as well as a supernatural street market.

The stage design is exquisite, with the main house interior reminiscent of a dollhouse. The children's nursery on the top floor is a large, hydraulically operated platform that is raised and lowered as the script requires. This was used effectively until at one point during the production the nursery became stuck and the show was delayed for a few minutes until it was able to move again. Technical imperfections aside, I'd give the set design and staging two thumbs up.

The major actors were first-rate, as one would expect in the land of Shakespeare and Benny Hill, those two titans of the British stage. However, while Scarlett Strallen (who plays Mary Poppins) is quite well regarded, she did not put me in any danger of forgetting Julie Andrews. I thought she was a bit plastic -- although that might have been due to the difference required in projecting to a theatre audience as opposed to acting in a movie production. The parents were well-acted, and the children performing the night we were in attendance (there are at least three or four sets of child actors playing the parts on a rotating schedule) were excellent.

The stage show is a worthy addition to the musical theatre genre. Some people may be a little disappointed that it does not follow the exact plot or include the same musical numbers as the movie. Mary, for instance, was not quite as enamored with the show as I was. I liked it a lot and would see it again if given the chance. Compared to the other musical we saw on the same trip, Les Miserables, I think it measured up nicely, and I still haven't made up my mind which one I liked better. Certainly Mary Poppins has more memorable tunes, if nothing else.

So if in London, spare an evening to go and check out this show. And if in you'll be visiting New York after October 14 of this year, you'll have a chance to take in the American show. Book early - I'm guessing that the show will be sold out for some time to come.

When planning our London theatre excursions, we used TheatreMonkey, an excellent site for seating suggestions as well as discounts. Highly recommended.

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