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selfindulgentmusicalreviews · 1 year

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Mary Poppins - Brisbane 2022 - QPAC

Hello Musical Theatre fans!

So 07/12/22 clocked in as my third viewing of Mary Poppins, and unfortunately seeing shows more than once in the run has started to become a very expensive habit. Strangely though, all three reasons had a different purpose, which usually isn’t the case (and rather, I just go because I enjoyed it so much I wanted to see it again.)

The first was due to some complimentary seats; so why not?

The second was the planned, intended viewing with the family.

And the third? Well. We found out one of our favourite ensemble members was playing Bert, so we booked some last minute tickets (literally 6 hours before the show started) and went!

(And, as of Jan 2023, I ended up seeing it a FOURTH time, due to a lottery win. That adventure isn't included here but it didn't change much!)

The Story

Mary Poppins is an excellent show. I went and saw it when it came to Brisbane for the first time in 2012. I have to admit, I wasn’t as impressed back then and came away not really wanting to go this time, but through either age/maturity or just a different cast/different production, I left with a completely different review of it.

The story of Mary Poppins is the same as it always has been - two misunderstood children with parents who have no time for them, so they act out and escape from their boring, strict nannies. In an attempt to open their parents’ eyes, a mysterious, magical nanny comes down from the sky to teach everyone a lesson. A special mention to Bert, the guardian angel jack-of-all-trades that always appears when the kids need him most.

The musical adaptation takes a slightly different turn than the movie, I can only assume for staging and pacing purposes. There are several new songs, and some of the songs from the movie have been changed, and in my opinion, some of the character arcs are a little more blurry. In the movie, the children are quite soft and don’t require such a firm hand to guide them (despite their letter going on about their pranks). They immediately love Mary, and follow her every request. It’s only on Mary’s day off when they’re with their father do things turn upside down. In comparison, the musical children are petulant trouble makers with strong personalities, who are dubious about Mary Poppins even after her introduction (that whole, “we hope you’ll stay” in ‘Practically Perfect’ is definitely sarcastic). They’re still making trouble despite Mary's influence; causing a mess in the kitchen for poor Robertson Ay. It’s definitely better consistency for their characters, given how much the other nannies label them as terrors. Luckily, with strong children, the stage role of Mary is equally as strong and no-nonsense to match.

Jane and Michael get their own miniature character arcs, though I find Jane’s is a little harder to follow. Michael learns to not judge a book by its cover when he feeds the birds, but Jane doesn’t quite come around at the same time and is still afraid of the bird woman. She eventually gets a throwaway line at the end about learning to look beyond what’s at the end of her nose, but we never see it truly resolved, and they’re still fairly judgy about how dirty Bert is as a chimney sweep.

George Banks is, of course, the man of the show with the most change, as intended by the original source material. We find that his lifestyle is deeply rooted in the trauma he faced as a young child - seeing his parents barely once a week and never being kissed goodnight, and forever being molded by brimstone and treacle (which after a quick google, I’m surprised George even made it to adulthood!)

One thing I probably don’t agree with and would love to see a rewrite for is the character of Winifred Banks. In the movie she’s a strong-willed suffragette, fighting for women’s rights (but is unable to stand up to or for her husband at home). In the musical, she’s a former actress that left the stage to host dinner parties and luncheons for rich ‘friends’ she doesn’t really know, which is the reason why she can’t look after the children (and ‘all the best people have nannies’.) At the end of the musical, she decides that the acting life isn’t for her, and that she’d rather just concentrate on being a mother.

Personally, I would love to see her in that suffragette role once more, and like Mr Banks, come to the conclusion that she needs to balance her lifestyle and the parenting with George. In the movie, watching her march and stand up for women, but be completely incapable of standing up to her husband was a fun juxtaposition (though in the movie, this was never resolved either.)

Upon first watching, I found at least one of the musical numbers was a little hard to piece together from a story perspective; specifically ‘Playing the Game.’ To be truthful, I’m still not sure how this song fits; Valentine is broken because the children are fighting over him, and after this (horrifically haunting) number about respecting your toys, Mary Poppins leaves because she can’t help children who won’t listen. While totally relatable and a generally good message, what does this have to do with anything that’s happened so far, and why does THIS particular issue prompt Mary Poppins to leave? The children seem to be following up to this point, and aren’t really resisting her lessons.

Some minor gripes that definitely don’t detract, but just make me laugh; I’m not sure how okay I am with the ‘Spoonful of Sugar’ essentially being a drug that gets them all high enough to enjoy cleaning. The rest of the show tends to rely highly on metaphor but this one feels a bit off.

Also, the reason for them being swept up the chimney sweep to meet Bert and the other sweeps will forever make me laugh with how random of an event it is, with no explanation or information about why it happens.

I suppose, just like Mary, the show makes a habit of never explaining anything ;)

Musical Numbers and Staging

Mary Poppins incorporates well loved songs from the movie with a host of great new songs that fit the pacing of the stage play. I always find myself with ‘Practically Perfect’ in my head as I leave the theatre (and for days afterwards).

Feed the Birds is always a standout in my mind; a hauntingly beautiful song on a dim stage, with beautiful harmonies from Mary and the bird woman. It never fails to give me goosebumps!

The choreography is incredible, especially Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - I always enjoy watching the cast rattle off letter after letter, and I’m pleased that we get to see it once more at the end.

One part I always love to watch is how quickly the park changes during ‘Jolly Holiday’ - from quiet browns and greys and blacks to suddenly brilliant greens and reds and purples (Colours of my Life, anyone?) as the lights come up always has me staring in childlike wonder, marvelling at just how incredible the stage can be. It’s magic moments like those that really make me love the theatre.

The costuming is brilliant, although if I have one criticism I would have loved to see Jane and Michael’s costumes start to brighten as the musical goes on. They wear greys and browns for the majority of the time (except in Jolly Holiday), but as they start to become happier, better adjusted children, it wouldn’t have hurt to see some of the colour leaching into their clothing as well.

Leads

For the 2022 run of Mary Poppins, we had Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers as our Mary and Bert. I saw them for two of the three shows I’ve seen, and their portrayal of these characters was amazing. Stephanie’s vocals and Jack’s charm really brought out the magic of these two characters, and their chemistry on stage was a delight to watch. I haven’t seen either of them in any other productions (I don’t think), so it was nice to see some new faces.

I’ve also got to give a special mention to Genevieve Kingsford and Patrick Whitbread, the understudies we saw on the 07/12/22. Patrick Whitbread was the ensemble member we were there specifically to see, and while I’m completely biased, Patrick played an incredible Bert to Genevieve’s Mary.

I always love getting to see multiple people in the same roles; they each bring something just a little different that usually offers unique perspectives.

Patrick’s Bert is goofy. He’s a sweet, lovable dork who pulls faces while he dances, and his portrayal reminded me a lot more of the Dick Van Dyke version of Bert from the movie. Jack plays a much more suave Bert, which is no less endearing and exciting to watch. Genevieve’s Mary was softer than Stephanie’s prim and proper nanny, but that softness didn’t diminish the way she commanded the stage.

Tom Wren was excellent all three nights - he has such a great smile and it’s such a standout when he goes from always frowning and scowling to these brilliant pearly grins. I absolutely loved Lucy Maunder’s performance; for the character she plays, she does it incredibly well and her vocals during “Being Mr Banks” are absolutely beautiful.

The children are always fantastic; I got to see three (four!) different sets, and all of them were equally amazing.

Ensemble

As per usual when I go to the theatre, I like to pay close attention to the ensemble, and see if I’ve seen any of them in any former productions. Some of them just end up sticking and I try to make sure I watch out for them during the shows. Due to the costuming and make-up usually covering faces and hair, I found it incredibly difficult to single them out as individuals on this show.

There were only a couple of them this time;

Hayden Baum, Ellie Nunan and Taylor Scanlan I’ve followed through numerous Cats productions.

Andrew Broadbent - we saw him in Book of Mormon; I’ve been trying to chase him down at Stage Door to no avail; he’s far too sneaky. I enjoyed watching him as Von Hussler and the Policemen - it’s always just nice to see familiar faces. As of the fourth viewing, I managed to get to Andrew at Stage Door! He was the kindest, most polite person I've ever met and I LOVE him very much.

Thanks for reading!

#QPAC #Queensland Performing Arts Centre #Musical Theatre #Musical Theatre Review #Queensland Musical Theatre #Mary Poppins #Stefanie Jones #Jack Chambers #Genevieve Kingsford #Patrick Whitbread #Tom Wren #Lucy Maunder #Hayden Baum #Ellie Nunan #Taylor Scanlan #Andrew Broadbent #Michael Cassel #Michael Cassel Group #Australian Musical Theatre

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talesofpassingtime · 8 months

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Lucy, after glancing at me to make sure I felt I had done about enough maundering for the moment, said, ‘The fear of death is based on not wanting to consult fact and logic and common sense.’

Kingsley Amis, The Green Man

#booklr

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f1 · 1 year

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F1 race director handled Australian GP perfectly Alesi | RaceFans Round-up

In the round-up: Former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi defends FIA race director Niels Wittich over his handling of the Australian Grand Prix. In brief Race director made right calls – Alesi After three red flags, two standing restarts and a multi-car crash, Wittich’s handling of Sunday’s race in Melbourne drew criticism from those who claimed the spectacle had taken priority over the sport. However Alesi is not among them. “I understand the impression of having seen a chaotic race but I don’t share the objections,” he told Corriere della Serra. “In my opinion, the race director applied the regulation perfectly.” While Mercedes said they were “very surprised” by Wittich’s decision to red-flag the race after Alexander Albon crashed at turn six, Alesi felt it was necessary. “On a track like the one in Melbourne, when gravel and other debris encroaches on the track, a red flag is a must,” he said. “As happened after the accidents involving Albon and Magnussen, after the collisions at the end. There are no alternatives and the risks for those who run are high.” ‘Webber’s hindsight is my foresight’ – Piastri Oscar Piastri admitted he doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with his manager Mark Webber, who eased his path into the sport where he raced for 12 years, winning nine races. “He’s incredibly good,” Piastri told Channel 4. “Obviously he’s been through my journey before, and especially now that I’m in F1, obviously he’s had an incredible career in F1 himself. He knows a lot of people in the paddock, pretty much everyone. “His hindsight is my foresight in some ways – he tells me all the time. Sometimes there’s a few decisions that maybe I don’t agree with but I always remember that he’s been here in my shoes before and there’s a very good reason why there’s some things he wants to do certain ways, which I’m incredibly grateful for.” Penske’s tribute to Lucy Foyt Roger Penske paid tribute to Lucy Foyt, the late wife of four-times Indianapolis 500 winner AJ Foyt, after she passed away earlier this week. “I have known AJ and Lucy Foyt nearly as long as I have been involved in racing,” said Penske. “So much of AJ’s racing success was rooted in the solid foundation of the love and support that Lucy provided for him throughout his career. “Racing can be a tough business, and AJ was not immune to the dangers drivers often face. It was Lucy who was always there to help AJ navigate through the hard times and get him back to his winning ways. “Most importantly, Lucy’s commitment to the Foyt family is her biggest legacy. Keeping the family connected allowed AJ to focus on being one of the greatest race car drivers of all time. I truly believe that it would have been hard for AJ to achieve all of his on-track success without Lucy. Our prayers and condolences are with AJ and the entire Foyt family.” Happy birthday! Happy birthday to Macleod, Josie Maunders, Bob and Rohnjaymiller! On this day in motorsport via RaceFans - Independent Motorsport Coverage https://www.racefans.net/

#F1 #F1 race director handled Australian GP “perfectly” – Alesi | RaceFans Round-up #Formula 1

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matildathemusical · 7 years

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Some new photos of the Oz cast from the program

#matilda the musical #izellah connelly #ANNABELLA COWLEY #VENICE HARRIS #Tiana Mirra #lucy maunder #william todd #Shyla Farrugia #matilda in oz

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matilda-australia · 7 years

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Last night, Matilda celebrated their 1 millionth guest which is super exciting for the whole company! Congratulations!

Also, nice to see a pic of Lucy Maunder as Miss Honey!

#lucy maunder #marika aubrey #matilda in oz #matilda the musical

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stranger-awakening · 4 years

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Audio Gifts

Hey, everyone!

It’s the end of the year again so I’m gonna gift out my audio masters from this year in case anyone’s interested. There’s 7 audios under the cut!

You’re more than welcome to trade/gift these but if you do just list them as ‘revolution-trade’s master.’ Oh, and don’t ever list them for sale. Thanks!

In The Heights I Australia I January 20, 2019 (Evening) I MP3 I Untracked Cast: Stevie Lopez (Usnavi), Olivia Vazquez (Vanessa), Joe Kalou (Benny), Luisa Scrofoni (Nina), Marty Alix (Sonny), Margi de Ferranti (Abuela Claudia), Monique Montez (Daniel), Libby Asciak (Carla), Alexander Palacio (Kevin), Ana Maria Belo (Camilla), Stephen Tannos (Graffiti Pete), Richard Valdez (Piragua Guy) Notes: Closing night of the shows four day run in Sydney. There were a few sound issues, but this cast is amazing. [link]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I Australia I January 24, 2019 (Matinee) I MP3 I Untracked [link] Cast: Xion Jarvis (Charlie Bucket), Paul Slade Smith (Willy Wonka), Tony Sheldon (Grandpa Joe), Lucy Maunder (Mrs. Bucket), Jake Fehily (Augustus Gloop), Octavia Barron Martin (Mrs. Gloop), Karina Russell (Veruca Salt), Stephen Anderson (Mr. Salt), Monette McKay (Violet Beauregard), Madison McKoy (Mr. Beauregard), Harrison Riley (Mike TeaVee), Jayde Westaby (Mrs. TeaVee) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory I Sydney, Australia I July 21, 2019 (Matinee) I MP3 I Tracked & Untracked Cast: Paul Slade Smith (Willy Wonka), Xion Jarvis (Charlie Bucket), Tony Sheldon (Grandpa Joe), Octavia Barron Martin (Mrs. Gloop), Jake Fehily (Augustus Gloop), Madison McKoy (Mr. Beauregarde), Jayme-Lee Hankeom (Violet Beauregarde), Stephan Anderson (Mr. Salt), Karina Russell (Veruca Salt), Jayde Westaby (Mrs. Teavee), Harrison Riley (Mike Teavee), Lucy Maunder (Mrs. Bucket), Danielle O’Malley (Grandma Josephine), Johanna Allen (Grandma Georgina), Kanen Breen (Grandpa George), Todd Goddard (Jerry/Ensemble), Madison Green (Cherry/Ensemble) Notes: Closing performance in Sydney. A bit of shuffling as there were people around me eating. During curtain call, all three Charlies were brought out for a final bow. [link] Billy Elliot I Sydney, Australia I October 10, 2019 I MP3 I Tracked & Untracked Cast: Wade Neilson (Billy Elliot), Kelley Abbey (Mrs. Wilkinson), Justin Smith (Dad), Vivien Davies (Grandma), Drew Livingston (Tony), Robert Grubb (George), Dean Vince (Mr. Braithwaite/Ensemble), Danielle Everett (Dead Mum/Ensemble), Aaron Smith (Older Billy/Ensemble), Mason Kidd (Michael), Ella Tebbutt (Debbie), Oscar Mulchay (Tall Boy) Notes: Opening night of the 10th Anniversary Australian production. Includes brief comments from the Associate Director, Simon Pollard. Act 1 is full but Act 2 starts at ‘Deep Into The Ground’ as my phone glitched and I missed the first number. [link] Chicago I Sydney, Australia I October 13, 2019 (Evening) I MP3 I Tracked & Untracked [link] Cast: Tom Burlinson (Billy Flynn), Natasha Bassingthwaighte (Roxie Hart), Alinta Chidzey (Velma Kelly), Casey Donovan (Matron ‘Mama’ Morton), Rodney Dobson (Amos Hart), J. Furtado (Mary Sunshine). Ensemble: Todd Dewberry, Mitchell Fistrovic, Andrew Cook, Samantha Dodemaide, Ben Gillespie, Chaska Halliday, Travis Kahn, Hayley Martin, Kristina McNamara, Joe Meldrum, Tom New, Jessica Vellucci, Romina Villafranca, Rachel Ward, Zachary Webster, Mitchell Woodcock, Amy Berrisford. School of Rock I Sydney, Australia I November 13, 2019 (Evening) I MP3 I Tracked & Untracked [link] Cast: Brent Hill (Dewey Flynn), Amy Lehpamer (Rosalie Mullins), John O’Hara (Ned), Nadia Komazec (Patty), Thea Sholl (Freddy), Brendan Rutledge (Zack), Samantha Zhang (Katie), Tobi Clark (Lawrence), Nakita Clarke (Summer), Jacob Drew (Billy), Ezekiel Sciacca (Mason), Julien Daher (James), Jenna Keenan (Shonelle), Lucy de Hosson (Marcy), Anja O’Connor (u/s Tomika) Billy Elliot I Sydney, Australia I November 20, 2019 (Matinee) I MP3 I Tracked & Untracked Cast: Omar Abiad (Billy), Lisa Sontag (u/s Mrs. Wilkinson), Justin Smith (Dad), Vivien Davis (Grandma), Drew Livingston (Tony), Robert Grubb (George), James Sonnemann (Michael), Gabrielle Dagger (Debbie), Mason Kidd (Tall Boy), Danielle Everett (Dead Mum), Aaron Smith (Older Billy) Notes: The scenes in Act 1 are a little quiet, but they’re clearer in Act 2 because I adjusted my phone. Billy dropped his chair during Swan Lake and you can hear it thump, but Omar recovered quickly. [link]

Here’s to more theatre in 2020!!

#audio gifts #audio gift #bootleg gift #in the heights #charlie and the chocolate factory #billy elliot #chicago #school of rock #school of rock musical #charlie and the chocolate factory musical #i did this last year as well but i only went to two musicals last year so this is ... an improvement lmao #jess rants about life

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ghostofbambifanfiction · 5 years

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I'm having a terrible night. any chance you can post a snippet from something to cheer me up?

"That's quite alright, Lucy. Sit down," Binns replied, and waved her towards the classroom in general.

Binns probably couldn't remember where, specifically, she sat, if the middle two letters of her name were such a challenge. James wanted to snap at him for it, tell him her name is Lily, you maundering old ghost, but that only annoyed him further. He had just reconciled himself to not seeing her until Monday morning, and now she'd turned up and transformed his body into an overcharged emotion factory.

When would the torture stop?

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adistantmusic · 7 years

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Matilda Review 18/3/17- Perth, Australia

First time seeing this show live, and wow

Pretty sure Eva Murawski was my Matilda. We were sitting pretty far back so it could have been Annabella Cowley. Anyways she had a lovely strong voice. I did feel like she was reciting lines rather than acting them, but it kind of works with the character since she’s so beaten down. She did enunciate every word clearly, and the accents work quite nicely.

Lucy Maunder was on for Miss Honey, she has such a lovely singing voice. She did flub a line towards the end but otherwise great performance.

James Millar as Trunchbull was great. I feel like he wasn't overly consistent in embodying the character, as sometimes he was quite feminine and other times more masculine, but overall a great performance.

I really liked Marika Aubrey’s interpretation of Mrs Wormwood, she was a little softer in her line delivery than Margherita, which I quite liked. I feel like her dance could have been more technically strong, but otherwise she was great

Daniel Frederiksen was pretty good, but not a stand out performance. His line delivery did feel very natural though.

I really don't like Mrs Phelps as a character, she’s just annoying.

Kids were great, so switched on all the time. Shontaè Minniecon (Hortensia) said her spelling bee lines super sassy which I loved. Too far back to recognise facial features so I’m not sure who else was on. I noticed they spoke quite slowly, and were careful to enunciate every word.

One thing I found really cool was that during quiet, Matilda had a jagged box lighting effect around her, instead of standing on a pile of books. I really liked this as it separated her from what was happening around her, and, paired with the other characters being frozen, was very effective.

School song was insane to see live, the lighting, choreography and use of props and stage were just perfect. That is how you stage a number.

The visuals in this show are just stunning through.

#eva murawski #lucy maunder #matilda the musical #matildainoz #matilda au #matilda australia #matilda in australia #james millar #marika aubrey #daniel frederiksen

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