Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre delivers the family entertainment goods with a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Mary Poppins, once again proving that you don’t need Broadway-budget spectacle to get audiences cheering.

A musical whose original incarnation featured a 11,000-pound Banks House and two-hundred-fifty complete costumes, a “Step In Time” that had Bert the chimney sweep tap-dancing quite literally upside-down from the top of the proscenium, and a grand finale that sent Mary soaring high above the audience all the way up to the top balcony, Disney’s And Cameron Mackintosh’s 2006 Broadway hit would seem to be among the least likely of shows to make a successful transition to a 200-seat community theater.

 And yet it does, thanks to Kristie Mattsson’s inspired direction, Lauren Blair’s imaginative choreography, costuming (by Mattsson, Anne Gesling, and The Theatre Company) that enraptures the eye, and performances that sparkle like the stars above 1910 London.

Film purists may protest the excision of the 1964 Disney film’s Uncle Albert (and “I Love To Laugh”) and Mrs. Banks’ extrafamilial role as “Sister Suffragette,” but P.L. Travers fans will appreciate the restoration of the Poppins novels’ come-to-life statues and a “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” visit to Mrs. Corry’s gingerbread shop.

 Julian Fellowes’ book does make the Banks family a good deal more dysfunctional than in the film, but with the majority of the now-standard Sherman Brothers songs intact (“A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Jolly Holiday,” “Feed the Birds,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”) alongside an extra half-dozen or so George Stiles/Anthony Drewe creations including Mary Poppins’ self-congratulatory anthem “Practically Perfect” and the infectious eleventh hour “Anything Can Happen,” Broadway’s Mary Poppins takes audiences of all ages on one magical, miraculous ride.

 Indeed, Mary Poppins has everything a musical smash ought to have, starting with hummable songs and spirited dance numbers performed at the Morgan-Wixson by a cast who prove themselves more than capable of Blair’s eclectic choreography, statues leaping and pirouetting, bankers kicking up their heels, and chimney sweeps tapping and high-kicking like Radio City Rockettes.

 Director Mattsson finds ingenious ways to make this Mary Poppins her own, from the gender-bending urchins whose multiple roles include puppeteering Miss Lark’s pooch and flocks of birds to finding ways to make Mary “fly” without cables (or kites without strings), and the elimination of the nightmarish “Playing The Game” makes this Mary Poppins even more family-friendly in tone and running time than the original.

 Leading lady Amanda Greig follows Little Women’s Meg with an equally marvelous Mary, a just-right mix of prim and proper and pretty and smart and sweet and tart, and a crystal-clear soprano to boot.

Philip McBride’s Bert is an ingratiating, fleet-footed delight, Spencer Johnson’s George Banks goes heartrendingly from stuffy to paternal, and Eileen Cherry O’Donnell plays frustrated ex-actress Winifred Banks with a delicious screwball touch.

 As for the Banks offspring, Sadie Fisher’s Jane and Ethan Kuwata’s Michael are as effortlessly cute and charming as child performers get.

A feisty Deborah Moore and a slapstick-gifted Hollister Starrett provide comic sparks as housekeeper Mrs. Brill and underling Robertson Ay, “Feed The Birds” gives Bird Woman Kelly Gable the chance to show off soprano pipes, and just wait till Kim Peterson’s nanny-from-hell Miss Andrew hits the rafters with the scarifying “Brimstone And Treacle.”

 Dance captain Steve Weber’s Neleus is a “statuesque” standout in “Jolly Holiday,” Joel D. Castro has just the right boom and bluster to play both Admiral Boom and the Chairman of George Banks’ bank, and Kelly Ciurczak is a Jamaican-accented treat as Mrs. Corry, with Angelica Roque’s Miss Lark and Khemuni Norodom’s Park Keeper adding their own London pizzazz.

 Additional cameo kudos go to Steven Flowers (Northbrook), Crystal Bibi Moh (Annie), Rosey Murrah (Katie Nana), Kent Navarrette (Policeman), Jenna Stocks (Miss Smythe), Olivia Sundeen (Fannie) Chris Tiernan (Von Hussler), and Ella Ward (Willoughby), with Robin Twitty (Lead Bird Dancer), assistant choreographer Holly Childers Weber, and year-old Lily Rose Weber completing the all-around terrific ensemble.

 Tom Brown deserves snaps for designing an effective, budget-conscious modular set that takes us to Mary Poppins’ multiple locales as does Gesling for her ingenious props and Bill Wilday for his vivid lighting.

Once again the Morgan-Wixson treats audiences to unamped voices that carry all the way to the back of the acoustics-blessed theater, musical directors Andrew Lederman and Daniel Koh eliciting melodic solos and harmonies over prerecorded tracks.

Mary Poppins is produced by Anne and Larry Gesling. Aric Martin is assistant director. Ashley DeFrancesco is stage manager. Meredith Wright is assistant prop and costume designer.

 Proving that you don’t need a multi-million-dollar budget to create theatrical magic, the Morgan-Wixson makes Santa Monica the place to be this summer for a jolly holiday with Disney’s And Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins. Who said musical theater has to cost a fortune to make or to enjoy!

Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica.
www.morgan-wixson.org

–Steven Stanley
June 30, 2018
Photos: Miriam Billington

Tags: Cameron Mackintosh, Los Angeles Theater Review, Morgan-Wixson Theatre, The Sherman Brothers