StageSceneLA

MARY POPPINS

In-the-round staging proves a perfect fit for Mary Poppins at Glendale Centre Theater, placing the emphasis firmly on P.L. Travers’ storytelling, the Sherman Brothers’ hum-along songs, a bunch of infectious dance numbers, and leading lady Deborah Robin, quite possibly the best of the seven Marys I’ve seen on stage.

Unlike the National Tour’s 11,000-pound Banks House (which got almost as much attention as Mary herself), GCT’s arena staging keeps Murat Montero’s just-right sets to a minimum, and with audiences situated on all four sides of the house, even back row seating is prime, just one reason Disney’s And Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins’ arrival in Glendale is the up-close-and-personal experience no proscenium staging could ever hope to be.

You’ll feel almost inside the Banks residence when Mary Poppins shows up at their doorstep, and if oohs-and-aahs lovers might grumble about a Mary whose feet never leave the ground, with Robin in the role, this Mary Poppins soars.

The 1964 Disney film’s Uncle Albert (and “I Love To Laugh”) and Mrs. Banks’ extrafamilial role as “Sister Suffragette” may have been cut, but P.L. Travers fans will appreciate the 2006 Broadway smash’s restoration of the Poppins novels’ come-to-life statues and a “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” visit to Mrs. Corry’s gingerbread shop.

The majority of the now-standard Sherman Brothers songs remain (“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.”

Zoe Bright directs for Glendale Centre Theatre, and not just with an attention to playing to all sides of the house but to performance as well, particularly that of leading lady Robin, who tempers Ms. Poppins’ spoonful-of-sugar with enough salt and vinegar to remind audiences of the 1934 P.L. Travers original.

As far as sopranos goes, voices don’t get any sweeter than Robin’s, who more than holds up her end of the dance bargain opposite quintessential triple-threat Michael Mantone’s next-best-thing-to-Dick Van Dyke Bert.

Craig Sherman plays Mr. Banks with a deft comedic touch opposite Elizabeth Eden’s radiant, deeply felt, gloriously voiced Mrs. Banks, and Grace McConnell and Andrew Bar are child charmers as Jane and Michael, both of them scoring bonus points for their spot-on posh British accents and Bar for his taptastic footwork.

Kate Landro and Antoine Lee’s knack for physical comedy make them a deliciously mismatched set of Banks family servants Mrs. Brill and Robertson Ay, Elizabet Manchola is an infectiously jolly Mrs. Corry, and Sydney Rose Hover is a warm and winning Bird Woman and a delightfully tongue-in-cheek Queen Victoria.

As for Eloise Coopersmith’s Miss Andrew, aka “The Holy Terror,” the SoCal stage vet is the most sensationally terrorific Nanny From Hell I’ve seen since the 2011 National Tour’s Q. Smith delivered that year’s scene-stealingest supporting turn.

Danny O’Connell leaps gracefully as come-to-life statue Neleus and life-sized toy Valentine, Tom Hall aces the crustiness of both Admiral Boom and the Chairman of George Banks’ bank, and GCT favorite Bridget Pugliese has fun as a dog-loving Miss Lark with an honest-to-goodness live pooch to take walking, with additional cameo gems provided by Rob Schaumann (Northbrook, Park Keeper) and Luke Matthew Simon (Von Hussler, Policeman).

Her name buried deep inside the program, Kai Chubb makes an auspicious Glendale Centre Theatre choreographic debut with one showstopper after another, from the statue-spotlighting “Jolly Holiday,” to a “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” that proves more than worthy of the Disney-coined adjective, to a “Step In Time” that may not have Bert dancing upside down as he’s done in previous big-stage productions but more than makes up for it with a stageful of dancing chimney sweeps doing high-energy footwork all the way up into the aisles. (Only the superfluous, and rather disturbing “Playing The Game” merits cutting in a show that runs a small-kids-unfriendly two hours and forty-five minutes.)

Joining in on Chubb’s intricate choreographic moves are tip-top ensemble members Betty Campbell (Doll), Eric De Anda, Augusto Guardado (Punch), Esteban Hurtado, Lee, Manchala, Marissa Mayer, Sarah Morgan, Shelby Monson, Reno Moore, O’Connell, Katie Powell, Pugliese, Laura Rensing, Jeffrey Sabino (Teddy), and Simon, all of the above singing to prerecorded tracks under Steven Applegate’s expert musical direction even as they dance.

Angela Manke h as designed some of her most colorful and imaginative costumes to date, with special snaps for Mary and Bert’s movie-memorable “Jolly Holiday” ensembles, vibrantly lit by Jeremy Williams, with additional design kudos due sound designer Alex Mackyol (name spelled wrong in two different ways in the program), sound engineer Michael McCoy, and properties designer Robert Glen Decker along with Banzai Vitale (stunts, aerial consultant) and aerial specialist Courtney Morrill working with an uncredited aerialist in “Anything Can Happen.