The winds have changed and the most practically perfect nanny of all time is currently in Kingsville for another adventure with Jane and Michael Banks. We caught Migration Hall’s sensational Mary Poppins Jr. this past weekend and we’re still singing the songs. The show continues this weekend for one more round of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious fun.
Migration Hall is phenomenal at producing big shows with huge casts and Mary Poppins Jr. is no exception. The costumes were truly scrumptious (oh wait, that’s a different musical), the extremely movable stage was brilliantly built and the cast was wonderful.
We all know the story of Mary Poppins – she’s been in our lives for decades providing good advice and a whole lot of love for generations, but for those that might have been sleeping under a rock, let’s break it down: Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins Jr. is an enchanting mixture of irresistible story, unforgettable songs, breathtaking dance numbers and astonishing stagecraft.
And Migration Hall’s Mary Poppins lives up to all accounts. It’s filled with a plethora of great songs – from glorious standards like A Spoonful of Sugar, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Let’s Go Fly A Kite to the insatiable dance routine Step In Time - these are the songs we’ve all grown up with.
The Migration Hall cast were dressed just as we remember them from the movies and they sang and danced their hearts out. Emily LeClaire was a delightful Mary and looked ravishing in that iconic blue dress. I’m personally fond of the white outfits that she and Jude Mercer (Bert) wore when they were at the park and sang Jolly Holiday. They looked just like Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke from the Disney movie.
While the show has many great characters and a ton of talent, I took a shining to Patricia Arndt’s lovely take on the bird woman. Her performance of Feed The Birds was captivating. I felt a few tears well up in my eyes when she sang that song.
One of the fun moments in the show involves actually flying a kite during Let’s Go Fly A Kite, where the kite travels above the audience and Mary appears behind the crowd as if she flew onto the stage – it was a lovely moment (for the show we were there for, the kite accidentally fell on a member of the audience and distracted the cast for a brief moment, but as the young professionals they are, the show continued and we were soon treated to Step In Time’s stunning dance routine from Bert and the ensemble.
Director Stephanie Allen Santos assembled a great cast and an incredible crew for this production.
Don’t let this one blow on by. Migration Hall’s Mary Poppins Jr. does exactly what community theatre is meant to do - captivate your mind and enrich your soul. The show continues tonight through Sunday (Oct. 26-28) for a couple more performances. Visit migrationhall.com for more information.
Cast:
BERT
Jude Mercer
GEORGE BANKS
Dominik Jezierski
WINIFRED BANKS
Siena Pacheco
JANE BANKS
Gracyn Will, Emelia Santos
MICHAEL BANKS
Blain Dutot, Michael Gerenda
KATIE NANNA
Olivia Todd Tracey
MRS. BRILL
Morgan DeYong
ROBERTSON AYE
Kevin Souto
MARY POPPINS
Emily LeClaire
PARK KEEPER
Paul Jezierski
NELEUS
Jessica Chalmers
STATUES:
Madeline Mastronardi (Queen Victoria), Nico Gerenda (Peter Pan), Brooklyn Dobson, Myranda Perciballi, Elise Pillon, Michaela Porteous
BIRD WOMAN
Patricia Arndt
HONEYBEES
Maddie Audet, Joselyne Bennett, Ciarra Betlehem, Addison Duarte, Vivian Duarte, Katherine Jezierska, Olivia Jones, Addy Klie, Bridgette Lea-Grieve, Teya Mastronardi, Bailee Roy, Eva Spicer
CLERKS
Rendel Arner, Emily Garrod, Paul Jezierski, Devin Milana, Hayley Romanyk, Olivia Todd Tracey, Abigail Wearne
MRS. SMYTHE
Emma Lebrun
CHAIRMAN
Ryan Hallick
VON HUSSLER
Parker Morin
JOHN NORTHBROOK
Myles Perciballi
MRS.
