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**MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

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#1

**MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:29pm

So tonight the show was not practically perfect. 10 minutes into act 2, right before Lets Go Fly A Kite an announcer came on saying that there were technical difficulties. 5 minutes later Tom Shumacher, President of Disney Theatricals came out and told us that the show should be up in 5-10 min. and that something seemed to have "slipped off the foundation". Then, about 15-20 minutes later he came back out and told us that he was sorry but they needed to stop the show. He said that the same thing happened in London at the exact same moment in the show.

So overal, the evening was interesting. Sitting in a dark theater for 20 minutes was strange. The show, well the half I saw was good, not amazing, not aweful, but good. I thought EVERY ensemble scene was AMAZING! Jolly Holiday, Supercali..., Temper, were all good. The scenes in the house with the parents...not so good. Bert was EXCELLENT!! Ashley Brown as Mary was good, lovely voice. Henry Hodges was on for Michael Gumley as Michael and I thought he was a little to winy. Delany Moro looked exaclty like the girl from the movie and she was great.

I can write more in the morning, but the stopping of the show really kind of runied the evening. Not loving the show so far, this abrupt interuption doesn't make me want to run back.

#3

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:35pm

So did they offer HALF the money back for the missing half of the show?
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
#7

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:44pm

If the same thing happened in London - wouldn't they make EXTRA sure it wouldn't have happened on Broadway? If they knew it was a problem - why not fix it or change it? It's DISNEY for Pete's sake.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
#8

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:45pm

It is in a way expected during previews by virtue of this being previews. While Disney has marketed these shows as previews, notice that they've charged full price for tickets and have basically offered these performances as final product. They've been doing this show for over two years now if you count the Bristol try out, one would think that in a theatre that they had all summer to install this show into, that all problems would have been teched through earlier than these shows. On the other hand, I've worked on shows with Hudson scenic scenery and I've had quite a bit of their stuff just break so who knows? If this happened in London, it seems that designs would have been modified to prevent it from happening in the future.
#10

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/25/06 at 11:57pm

I did feel bad for Schumacher. Anyone that has heard him talk knows his is one of the most charismatic, positive personas you could ever see. So to see him come back out and look crestfallen was actually sad. He did say it was the first time in his 25 years of his career he's had to cancel a performance.

But he said that the house fell off its tracks, which led to the foundation slipping joke. He said they just couldn't get the house back on track. And that set piece is huge. It's really a beautifully done 3-story set...my guess is they couldn't get it back upstage. He did say it was a 20-ton house.

Otherwise, it was really beautiful production. Design elements were just amazing all around. Gavin Lee and the two children are delightul. Mark Price and Julia Carr as well. The scenes with the parents ground the show to a halt more than the broken sets, with probably one of the worst ballads I've ever heard. Poor Rebecca Luker. Ashley Brown I'm still not sold on. I warmed up to her little by little, but there's just something not right about her performance yet.


"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008

Updated On: 10/25/06 at 11:57 PM

#11

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/26/06 at 12:00am

GUYS! Calm down! The house came off the track. The set is MASSIVE so things like this will happen. At least you get a refund or an exchange. Basically you saw half a show for free. I understand that people were disappointed, but yelling in the lobby?! Next time wait till it opens and pay full price before you complain.
#13

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/26/06 at 12:04am

believe me, there was no way to even do a concert performance. they were totally screwed. i will post thoughst in a bit.. am checking back for new tickets in the morning... all I can say is WOW! I was SOOO enthralled all evening
#16

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/26/06 at 12:20am

Tonight I was enjoying the show myself although some of the scenes weren't quite connected. I didn't like Luker's character at all, so boring. Gavin Lee was fine, bright & athletic. Ashley Brown sparkles. She made me smile, and she moves so gracefully. It did take me a while to get LMK's voice out of my head though. Brown's voice is more refined as if she drinks candy cane juice from a sliver cup. But don't look for a multi-dimensional woman. She is Disney banality at its best, and very easy to look at. 'Jolly holiday' was a treat. The choreography is mild and unpredictable. I hope to see the show in its entirety next time. But when???

Well, atleast I was able to talk on my cell phone the whole time while waiting in the theatre for 20 min. Leaving the theatre was chaos. Luckily I got out fast as I passed the clueless ushers who were dealing with messy patrons. yikes!
#20

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/26/06 at 12:30am

Don't get upset at the tourists; I can understand their frustrations. They came from out of town and are probably spending buckets of money. Yes, they came during previews, but how many of them do you think actually realize that there are preview performances and what they really are? Not to say that they are dumb or anything, but I can definitely understand not being aware of the practices that happen in theatre.
#21

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/26/06 at 12:35am

I'm sure most tourists don't care if it's a preview or not, as long as it's playing while they're in town. Of course, the more discriminating theatregoer will account for that. But if a parent is bringing a family into town while it's convenient and afforble to do so, I doubt it matter if it's a preview to them, as long as the fam enjoys their time.


"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
#22

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/26/06 at 12:36am

I saw the show last weekend and I thought Rebecca Luker was the highlight of the whole thing.

Her soprano was exquisite, she's got the best voice onstage and she is ever the raving beauty, so much so that she is the loveliest woman on that stage.

She's also got the perfect take on her character, it's fully developed, and you can expect another Tony nom for her.

I thought Ashley was fine in her role and did a lovely job as well.

The acting is all up to snuff. It's a perfect show for children.

I like a little more meat or some avant garde in seeing theatre, but this is a great show and nice entertainment for children and families.
#23

re: **MARY POPPINS SET BREAKS....SHOW CANCELLED 10 min. INTO ACT 2**

Posted: 10/26/06 at 12:50am

Do the kids in the show have handlers that escort them around backstage like from the moment they step off stage until they leave? A set piece like this house, when it goes awry, could be very dangerous, especially to kids.

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