Carter Thomas not only proves himself a director par excellence, he gives silver screen greats like Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Dick Van Dyke a run for their dance showmanship as Bert (the role Van Dyke originated on screen) in Highlands Theater’s magical and mesmerizing revival of the Broadway smash Mary Poppins.

Not that this should come as any sort of surprise given the directorial prowess Thomas demonstrated at Highlands in The Music Man and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, or the fact that he grew up locally as a preteen triple-threat and toured the country as Michael Banks.

Still, how exciting it is to see Thomas graduate from young Michael to the role of chimney sweep Bert and in doing so give one of the year’s most spectacular star turns.

But I digress. Let’s talk about the musical itself.

Could there be a greater crowd-pleaser for children of all ages than Mary Poppins? (By children I mean anyone from kindergartners to the 70something Boomers who first fell in love with the 1964 Walt Disney film on which it is based to folks in their nineties who discovered Mary Poppins as a series of novels by P.L. Travers.)

Still, a Broadway musical whose original incarnation featured a) a 11,000-pound Banks House and two-hundred-fifty complete costumes, b) a “Step In Time” that had Bert tap-dancing quite literally upside-down from the top of the proscenium, and c) a grand finale that sent Mary soaring high above the audience all the way up to the top balcony would seem to be among the least likely of shows to make a successful transition to a church doubling as a community theater.

And yet it has done just that at Highlands, where Brianne Johnson’s supremely inventive scenic design combines movable set pieces and gorgeous rear-screen projections to make this Mary Poppins a treat for the eyes, and where Carter and choreographer Sylvie Gosse manage to dazzle the audience in “Step In Time” even without Bert dancing upside down from the rafters, and where some ingenious staging has us almost believing Mary Poppins is descending down from the skies above minus Peter Pan style cables.

Movie fans can rejoice that the majority of the now-standard Sherman Brothers songs remain (“A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Jolly Holiday,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Feed the Birds,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite”), with an extra half-dozen or so George Stiles/Anthony Drewe creations added to compliment Julian Fellowes’ somewhat darker-than-the-movie book, among them Mary Poppins’ self-congratulatory anthem “Practically Perfect” and the infectious eleventh hour “Anything Can Happen.”

Ultimately, the very best way to enjoy Disney’s And Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins is to cast aside any preconceptions you may have and simply delight in its magical ride.

And what a rolickingly fun ride it is at Highlands with its hummable songs and thrilling dance numbers, and not only that; there’s magic too, and not just when Mary Poppins pulls a roomful of fixtures out of her trademark carpet-bag purse.

Lissette Garrido’s Mary is as pretty and pert as she is tart and tender-hearted and her soprano is the next best thing to Julie Andrews’.

Rising star Kyle Critelli subdues the sex appeal he exuded in Bridges Of Madison County and Rent to vanish inside George Banks’ stodgy skin and Rebecca Allfrey (who doubles as the show’s assistant director) captures pitch-perfectly a repressed Edwardian wife and mother just itching to break free from her societal corset.

Becca Last and Calvin Davis (alternating with Hazel Hassler and Owen Laing) are child charmers as Jane and Michael Banks, though I wish I could have understood more of what they were saying.

Delectable cameo turns abound, beginning with the comic sparks revealed by Jenny Strattan and Zach Timson as housekeeper Mrs. Brill and underling Robertson.

SoCal treasure Dynell Leigh makes for the most touching of Bird Ladies while Kara Gibson-Slocam is a hiss-worthy delight as Nanny-From-Hell Miss Andrew, whose scarifying “Brimstone And Treacle” brings down the house.

Vinny Mohr dances gracefully as statue-come-to-life Neleus, John Moschietta Jr. embodies British crustiness as both Admiral Boom and Bank Chairman, and Natalie Scott, William Hurst, Kayleigh Long, Steve Sieger, and and a particularly vivacious Jodi Marks deliver engaging cameos as Miss Lark, the Park Keeper (and Von Hussler), Katie Nana, Policeman, and Mrs. Corry.

Choreographer Gosse gives ensemble members Parker Apple, Makenna Bolton, Brock Cary, Jade Dailey, Bridget Gordon, Justin Guglielmetti (John Northbrook), Annie Metcalf, Matthew Roman, Michelle Renae, and Jacob Rushing (Valentine) an abundance of challenging dance steps to execute quite sensationally if I do say so myself, and the entire cast vocalizes splendidly to prerecorded tracks under Gibson-Slocum’s expert music direction.

Angela Manke’s colorful kaleidoscope of costumes and Paul Ried’s vibrant lighting complete a production design that never fails to enchant the eye.

Mary Poppins is produced by Highlands Church. Allfrey is assistant director. Kelly Flynn is production coordinator and Philip Thomas is technical director. Tracey Thomas is technical director.

There was a while there that Mary Poppins seemed to be popping up everywhere. Not so much over the past half-dozen years, however, making its arrival at Highlands Theater worthy of note. That this Mary Poppins could not be more supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is icing on the cake.

Highlands Church, 4441 La Crescenta Ave., La Crescenta. Through August 3. Thursdays and Fridays, and Sundays at 7:30 Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:30.
www.highlandsla.com

–Steven Stanley
August 7, 2026

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Cameron Mackintosh, HIghlands Theater, Los Angeles Theater Review, The Sherman Brothers