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[title]It truly takes a character of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious quality to command almost a century of unfaltering popularity. But given that Mary Poppins is practically perfect in every way, it should come as no surprise that whether in her book, film, or stage incarnation, this magical nanny is as beloved today as she was when author Pamela Lyndon Travers first penned her in the 1930s.
The 1964 screen adaptation, starring Julie Andrews in the title role, is where many of us first met the Banks children and the colourful cast of chalk drawings and chimney sweeps they encounter after Mary Poppins floats into their lives. However, a whole new generation of fans have been charmed by the blockbusting Broadway and West End smash-hit stage show, which premiered at the Bristol Hippodrome back in 2004.
Following sensational seasons in Sydney and Brisbane, Poppins and Co are now wowing audiences at in an all-new production. But should you need any more convincing to snap up your tickets, let these five fascinating facts about Marry Poppins the Musical be the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down.
Photograph: Daniel Boud
To date, it’s been enjoyed by more than 11 million people in 22 countries around the world
She may have worked her magic on the streets of early 20th-century London, but Mary Poppins is a global phenomenon. Following the musical’s wildly successful debut seasons in the West End and on Broadway, the show began its worldwide conquest, playing across Europe and Scandinavia, North and South America, the Middle East, Japan and Australasia. Its timeless songs, from ‘Jolly Holiday’, to ‘Chim Chim Cher-ree’, have also been translated into no less than 13 languages – so far, that is.
Photograph: Daniel Boud
This is the first revival of Mary Poppins the Musical to return to Melbourne since the Australian premiere in 2010
The first Aussies to enjoy this show on home turf were packed to the rafters at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne on July 14, 2010, where Verity Hunt-Ballard became the first Antipodean Poppins to lead the production. After a nine-month season that set new Australian box-office records and earned a whopping eight Helpmann Awards, including the gong for Best Musical, the wind changed and the show flew on to play Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Just shy of 12 years on, Melburnians now have a chance to see this record-smashing show back at the same theatre where it made history during its Australian premier outing.
Photograph: Daniel Boud
This production was one of Time Out’s highest rated musicals of 2022
Sydney isn’t exactly starved for top musical theatre shows, having hosted the Australian premiere seasons of Hamilton, Frozen and Matilda in recent years. But even stacked against those sky-high standards, Mary Poppins the Musical stood out for arts editor Alannah Maher. In her five-star rave review of the Sydney season, which opened in May 2022, she noted: “By the time the last curtain falls, you’ll be left wanting more, and floating out of the theatre exchanging grins with fellow audience members like a child hyped up on a spoonful of sugar, ready to go fly a kite.”
Photograph: Daniel Boud
A true legend of the Australian stage is making a special guest appearance in this production
While the eponymous Poppins, performed in this latest production by Stefanie Jones, is the centre of the action, a smaller role has become an opportunity for a grande dame of the theatre to join the cast. And in this new Australian production, the choice of star stepping into this part has a touching history with the show. The Bird Woman, who sings the heart-meltingly beautiful song ‘Feed the Birds’, will be performed by stage icon Marina Prior, who was also part of the original 2010 premiere cast of Mary Poppins the Musical, in the role of Winifred Banks, mother of the Banks children, Jane and Michael. And in a world first, Marina Prior is doubling up as the nastiest nanny in the world, Miss Andrew – Mr Banks’ childhood nanny. This star turn was called ‘stunningly brilliant’ by Australian theatre community website Theatre Matters.
Photograph: Daniel Boud
It’s the perfect show for a multi-generational family night out
Mary Poppins conjures nostalgia in spades for those who grew up loving the film, whether that’s grandparents who were delighted by it when it first hit the silver screen in the ‘60s or parents who were raised on it as the movie became a perennial family classic. But with its story of extraordinary adventures in chalk drawings, magical bedroom tidy ups and flight via umbrella, not to mention the jaw-dropping stage effects employed to bring all this vividly to life, children will be hooked every bit as much as those who already know and adore it. And that really is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.