Saturday 11th October, Edinburgh Playhouse, Matinee Performance - Full Cast

I knew nothing about Mary Poppins before yesterday except for what I knew from the film (which I despise) and that Stiles and Drewe had written the extra songs. Oh, it was going to be darker than the film. I wasn't sure what to expect at all and with the volume of children going in I was a little worried about the noise level in the theatre, I needn't have. This show took everything I hate about the film and didn't put it on stage. The new songs are brilliant and I have to say the new emotional arc in place with the changed story works a lot better than the film ever did. I felt like I was 4 again for an afternoon.

The music for this is absolutely brilliant and I think a lot of that can be accredited to Stiles and Drewe, there are some incredibly poignant lyrics that really follow you out of the theatre. The fact that I have only seen the show once and can faultlessly repeat Bert's opening sung lines is no accident. As it's Disney backed there's a fantastic 17 piece orchestra in the pit with the most enthusiastic MD I've seen in ages. At one point during Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious he turned and yelled "RAR" into one half of the pit! Amused my friend and I no end :lol: The orchestrations are great and, as it's a William David Brohn, my favourite ebow makes several appearances :wub:

As it would be easy to do spoilers for this show I'm going to pick out cast highlights instead.

Danny Crossley as Bert was absolutely amazing. He had phenomenal stage presence. Step in Time, all I'm going to say! I'd go again just to see him.

I loved Caroline Sheen, Mary Poppins has some of the best lines I think I've come across in a long time. Some brilliant, laugh out loud one liners: "Oh my eye, well isn't your life just a tragedy (!)" :lol: She was faultless and she must have her smile screwed on to do that 8 shows a week.

Louise Bowden as Mrs Banks is just phenomenal, wow. Show stealer. A fantastic performer.

Martin Ball - I wasn't sure what to expect from him but also having never seen the show I wasn't sure what to expect from the part. Needless to say, as with so many, the man was utterly wasted in Wicked and his "A Man Has Dreams" was heartbreaking. One point in particular broke me entirely which I hadn't expected from this show. It's worth the money for his Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious in the Precision and Order reprise :D

We had Chloe Jones and Tyler Fagan as the children they were truly sensational and put my faith back in children who work in theatre. They didn't miss a trick and really brought those characters to life.

There was so much I enjoyed about this show but I'd pay the ticket money again (and probably more) in a heartbeat. My favourite songs were Chim Chim Cher-ee (Bert's opener), Practically Perfect, Jolly Holiday, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, Temper Temper, Good for Nothing, Step in Time, A Man Has Dreams and Anything Can Happen. I still cannot spell Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious without confusing myself midway so major kudos to the whole cast for not a single slip up when spelling it at supersonic speed!

A rare thing these days it's truly magical show. I absolutely loved it and will be trying to catch Caroline Sheen in it again before the cast changes mid-run in Edinburgh. If the tour comes near your area, go and see it and put some magic back in your life :)

Stretch your mind beyond fantastic, dreams are made of strong elastic. :D

I much prefer Ant's line:

IF YOU REACH FOR THE STARS
ALL YOU GET ARE THE STARS
BUT WE'VE FOUND A WHOLE NEW SPIN
IF YOU REACH FOR THE HEAVENS
YOU GET THE STARS THROWN IN.

Fans of Poppins may wish to check these episodes out:

http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk/episodes_0070.html (Interview with William David Brohn - Orchestrator)

http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk/episodes_0058.html (Interview with Gavin Creel - who played Bert up until the show's west end closing)

http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk/episodes_0037.html (Martin Ball episode 1)

http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk/episodes_0039.html (Martin Ball Episode 2)

http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk/episodes_0033.html (Stiles and Drewe Episode 1)

http://www.musicaltalk.co.uk/episodes_0068.html (Stiles and Drewe Episode 2)

Sounds fantastic!

I'm seeing the first non-English version of Mary Poppins at the premiere in Sweden on Saturday. Really excited!

Just to add, I saw it on its closing day in Cardiff. I, too, had the full cast, but Lisa O'Hare was my Mary, and she did a fab job. Unfortunately, I was unable to purchase a programme, as they had run out :blink: so I can't remember the names of the children, but they were fantastic! Martin Ball and Daniel Crossley were perfect (and so nice to see a Bert with a proper London accent!!!). I wouldn't say it was my favourite show ever, as I felt it was aimed at a slightly younger audience than me (though I think I would have found Temper, Temper quite scary as a sprog!), but it was doen excellently, the sets and lighting and costumes were beautiful, and it was brought to life sublimely.
Interestingly, I heard a lot of mothers afterwards complaining to each other that their children were unhappy that it was different to the film (I don't know if they expected dancing penguins and jumping into paintings...). To them I say - do your research! Not everything is a carbon copy of what's on screen!!!