Mary Poppins hits the Sydney stage
Mary Poppins revists the Sydney stage, featuring Melbourne's Noah Missell and Sydney's Jamie Reisin.
When you talk about the beautiful musical Mary Poppins you’d be forgiven for bursting into song. Imagery of Bert dancing with the penguins, or Mary singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or A Spoonful of Sugar to help her charges take their medicine spring to mind. It’s arguably one of the most well-known and beloved movies of all times, originally starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.
And now, Mary is revisiting the Sydney stage, with Disney and Sir Cameron Mackintosh’s new production opening this week at the Lyric Theatre, as the magical tale of the world’s favourite nanny comes to life.
Thomas Schumacher, president and producer at Disney Theatrical Productions, refers to the latest production as a “long-overdue homecoming for Mary”, alluding to the fact, of course, that Mary Poppins was written by Australian-British author P.L. Travers.
“No region on the planet has embraced this gorgeous production more than Travers’s homeland,” he said.
For Mackintosh, bringing Mary to Australia is an incredible experience.
“Mary Poppins flew into my heart when I first saw the movie and read P.L. Travers’ unforgettable books as a schoolboy. My long-held dream of creating a stage musical out of her work started in Sydney over 25 years ago after Pamela had entrusted me to write a first treatment which was enthusiastically embraced by Tom Schumacher and Disney,” Mackintosh explained.
“To create a piece of spectacular theatre like Mary Poppins you need a supercalifragilistically magic cast – and after a two-year search, we have found one.”
The cast includes Melbourne’s Noah Missell and Sydney’s Jamie Reisin.
“When my agent called me to tell me I’d be in the ensemble and understudying Bert I did three things. I screamed, I ran around the room and then I wasn’t able to speak for a solid minute – and none of that is exaggerated,” Missell told The AJN.
“I was overwhelmed with a sense of ecstatic joy and accomplishment. To be honest, I didn’t actually believe I was understudying the role until the final Zoom call.”
Missell, who attended the Jason Coleman Ministry of Dance, the National Theatre Ballet School in Melbourne and Victorian College of the Arts, cut his musical theatre teeth on West Side Story which, at one stage, was the only show running in Australia due to COVID-19 lockdowns. And what an amazing feat to move from one iconic production to another.
“Everyone knows that this show is filled with nostalgic music and all the bells and whistles of fun and high-energy numbers, but what is most brilliant about this show is how touching the story is,” he said.
“You don’t expect it, but it is honestly one of the most beautiful, relatable and heart-touching stories. This show is so well written and thought out, it just ticks all the boxes.”
Mary Poppins runs May 15–September 4. For tickets: marypoppinsmusical.com.au/home
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