Attend the tale of Bovine Boy
His party threads we all enjoy
But does he have Mad Cow Disease?
He doesn't eat beef - but cows skating? - oh please!!!
With cocoa!?!
And lemonade!?!
The heifer-mad poster of Broadway
(World)
I saw the original girl. What's her name? She bored me as Hodel in FIDDLER, and she bored me as Mary Poppins. My brain won't allow for me to remember someone's name who has that little stage presence. I saw the original cast, about 1 month or so, into the run. She's a cipher, on stage, imo. Although, my issue isn't even the cast, my issue is the show. The show is far too dark and dreary, for my tastes. In the beginning of the show, you accept it, because Mary hasn't arrived yet. You keep thinking that once she does, things will brighten up. They don't! They get darker and more dreary. I hated that show.
Laura Michelle Kelly. I'm saddened you didn't like her, I thought she was fanastic in both the recording and the... yeah. Anyways. I can't disagree more with your opinion on the show, but you probably noticed that already. Oh, and Laura is my avatar. <---------
"I have this mental image of Patti barreling down the street and pushing tourists out of her way." -colleen_lee
It will probably be "repaired" the same way Sunset Boulevard was, which really means making it far worse than the London counterpart.
I happen to love the London recording and the story appears to be quite fun. The Brimstone and Treacle Nanny/Marry Poppins leaving is a great twist and needs to be there IMO.
Actually, it's rather hysterical that not only couldn't I remember her name (and I saw her in 2 different productions); but I also didn't even recognize her from your avatar! Such a non-entity she is to me. I don't know why that's so funny to me? Anyway, it sure supports how I feel about her. Again, while I feel she completely lacks stage presence, my biggest issue was the show, itself. MARY POPPINS certainly doesn't need my ticket money to be a hit on Broadway, that's for sure!
I wouldn't worry about Ashley Brown having a lack of stage presence. I saw her in BatB and that girl commanded the stage (and had a wonderful voice, to boot). I'm really looking forward to her take on Mary.
Oh I sure hope they won't "Americanize" the show. People are so used to Disney's movie version, thinking THAT's Mary Poppins. Well if anybody who read the original books, real Mary Poppins is more stern and strict and I really like that way.
Re: bringing kids under 5 yrs old to Mary Poppins, have you taken the kids to a Broadway show? I mean not necessarily to Broadway but to a national tour show, a regional theatre that performed a Broadway classic etc.? Unless they have sat through without ANY fidgeting/complaint, I'd say wait until they grow up a little. Sitting through a movie and a 2.5 hour show is totally different. Mary Poppins will run for a long time for sure, so they can wait.
But, see, that's another thing that's wrong with the show, imo. If they wanted to distance themselves from the iconic Disney film, then why use the film's score? Why not just write an original musical? That would have been better, for me. How can you not sit there an compare the show to the film, when hearing a song that was done better in the film? Then they cut a couple of tunes, and insert a couple of inferior ones, in their place.
THE LIFE I LEAD was the most notably missing song, because the show could have really used it. I LOVE TO LAUGH is not there, nor is STAY AWAKE. I don't remember if there was anything else, but I don't think so. It's fairly forgettable, so it's becoming a bit of a blur, now.
Oh yes! Another song that the dreary mother character could have used. That, or a gun, to blow her brains out. What a depressing character she is. Poor Linzi Hateley, just wasted.
I haven't seen the London production, so I can't comment there, however I was never a fan of that song in the film. It hasn't bothered me that it's been cut.
I can understand why they were cut, as the tunes themselves for those songs (except Laugh and Stay Awake) are pretty inferior to the rest of the songs from the film.
How to properly use its/it's:
Its is the possessive. It's is the contraction for it is...
The songs added to the show are more inferior to those cut, imo. But, that's not why they were cut. They were cut, because there was no place in the show, with the changes from the film. I love the mother character in the film. I despise her, in the show. Nothing to like. And, I saw it with Linzi Hateley, who I adore.
I found the show utterly boring and charm free. The Poppins character is part of an ensemble and never rises above that. I was utterly disappointed at having gone all the way to london, to see it on its own turf, and was flabbergasted at how dull and LONG it was. The most surprising thing is the lack of MAGIC on the stage. With all the stagecraft at our disposal today it amazed me how little was employed. And don't go in expecting a magical entrance-what a missed opportunity. Original story or not, its charmless. The kids around me were as bored as i was.
Though I agree Mary's entrance could be more "magical", I found the show to be fun and full of magic elsewhere. I'm Very excited for the Broadway production.