I very reluctantly went tonight since it was the only Broadway musical playing tonight (I believe) and I was intrigued to see Laura Michelle Kelly. I'm not a fan of Kelly on the cast recording, and I generally think of Christina Borle as a rather bland performer, so I went in with very little expectations.
I was pleasantly surprised by the show. I'd never seen MARY POPPINS before, and I have to say that it's not a bad show at all. It's not great either, perhaps not even a good show, but I can't say I didn't have fun watching it, especially during the first act. The show definitely suffers during the second act since the plot really could just be resolved in 10 minutes that they turn into another hour (especially since the show seems like it's about to end at three different points).
I have to say Laura Michelle Kelly was pretty brilliant as Mary Poppins. I didn't see her in London so can't really compare, but what I saw tonight was a fantastic star turn. Kelly's Mary Poppins is not particularly sweet, yet she is so incredibly likable and simply commanding. There's just something about her, her confidence, her style, her looks, and God that voice, that just makes you understand why this woman is so special and magical. The new songs aren't all that great, but Kelly's voice and acting make each song work perfectly. There is not a moment you aren't rooting for her, I particularly loved her scene with Mrs.Andrews (props to a great Rutt Gottschal who's a really fun villain, and has power vocals). This is a star turn not to be missed.
Christian Borle was good. I don't think of him as having much star quality, but I think that worked fine for the role. He's no Gavin Creel (whom I would have loved to see in the role), but he is able to sell the part quite well, and his dancing throughout is terrific (it didn't show it was his first time going on at all). More importantly, he has a lot of chemistry with Kelly which works out quite nicely. His accent is all over the place though. And I know it's a trick and whatnot, but I thought the dancing during "Step in Time" was really neat, and Borle seemed really excited when he was dancing upside down.
The rest of the cast is good, I thought Rebecca Luker did a good job in the role of a doormat, she managed to add some dignity to a very poorly written character.
The new song "Playing the Game" just comes off as creepy (I'm not sure if they were going for dark, whimsical, or what). And God those kids are annoying, especially the sister (blanking out on her name); I don't mean the actors, just the way they are written they come off as incredibly unlikable.
Overall, I'm glad I went even if I was very much ready for the show to end throughout most of the second act. I think Kelly's performance is worth taking a trip to the New Amsterdam.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
