Mary Poppins Movie: What Didn't Make It...- Page 3

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 6:40pm

Scary--when I saw the show, I would say the majority of the audience loved it. The kids were not bored, and their parents seemed very relieved by that.

I felt like I was watching a very expensive children's show, however... not a family show (since I am part of a "family" equation). I was disappointed in it, and so were the two people who went with me, but judging from the reaction(s) during the performance, I would venture to say we were in the minority. At least "the disappointed" weren't vocal about it! So maybe I couldn't exactly seek out others like me. No booos or rotten tomatoes were witnessed. But the "pleased" were very vocal and clapped and cheered a lot.

...if that helps put anything in perspective for you.

EDIT: As far as New Amsterdam seating I had house seats for Lion King (7th row, dead center), and center mezzanine seats for Mary Poppins.

In both cases, there was very little leg room. The theatre is one of the most beautiful I've ever been inside, but it ain't too comfy.

Updated On: 11/19/06 at 06:40 PM

[TomMonster]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 6:43pm

The orchestra's not cramped--at least not as bad as the upper tiers!

It's true B12B--the two children sitting next to me were completely engrossed in it. They must have been 6 and 7. I was very relieved!

The audience I saw it with also went wild! No tomatoes that night...

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 6:47pm

Tom---I didn't notice any difference in the knee space, even when I was 7th row, center. Still just as cramped, and my partner (at Lion King) commented on it at intermission.

But the view of the theatre from that location was/is the best and grandest. Wow!

[TomMonster]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 6:51pm

Well, for us big boys (tall, I mean--hehehe), ALL theatres are cramped. It's not as bad as some other houses.


Lately, I've equated attending the theatre with flying coach...

And people are bringing WAY too much carry-ons to the theatre!

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 6:53pm

"Scary--when I saw the show, I would say the majority of the audience loved it. The kids were not bored, and their parents seemed very relieved by that.

I felt like I was watching a very expensive children's show, however... not a family show (since I am part of a "family" equation). I was disappointed in it, and so were the two people who went with me, but judging from the reaction(s) during the performance, I would venture to say we were in the minority. At least "the disappointed" weren't vocal about it! So maybe I couldn't exactly seek out others like me. No booos or rotten tomatoes were witnessed. But the "pleased" were very vocal and clapped and cheered a lot.

...if that helps put anything in perspective for you.

EDIT: As far as New Amsterdam seating I had house seats for Lion King (7th row, dead center), and center mezzanine seats for Mary Poppins.

In both cases, there was very little leg room. The theatre is one of the most beautiful I've ever been inside, but it ain't too comfy."

You are all a helpful bunch around here!


I'm surprised to hear about it feeling like a children's show since the London version was so heavily criticized for being dark and "adult." I was a little worried when I read that the sets had been brightened and made more colorful for Broadway, perhaps that carried over in other ways as well.


I will probably try to get orchestra seats for the soonest available weekend date...which I guess may be months.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 7:10pm

I'll never be a "Junior Miss, Size 3" again.

I had enough space at Jersey Boys though... cramped at Grey Gardens.

I'm waiting for the plush home theatre chairs with the Big Gulp holders and the foot massagers.

THAT's entertainment!

Hey... If they charge enough money for a First Class air ticket on the premium seats, they ought to design accordingly.

[TomMonster]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 7:12pm

I agree about the first class seats! It is fun to see VERY uncomfortable rich people squeeze into the seats with their furs and gucci bags.

Cup holders, etc, are probably not that far away, I'm afraid!

The August Wilson is nice and roomy. The Kerr, is not!

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/19/06 at 7:20pm

I don't need cup holders, I just need to make sure I can see over my scrucnched up knees. And I'm only 5'5.

I saw Lion King in 2000 when I was ten and even then I could barely fit. And I am not an obese person by any means.

[PaintTheMusic]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 4:47am

... the casting of Julie Andrews, which was controversial enough, since Mary is not a young woman in her 20s in the books.


The idea that Poppins was a woman of an older age in the books is actually a misconception that has been around for a while. P.L. Travers described Mary Poppins as being a woman of about 27 years old, which was the exact age Julie was during the time of filming.

Julie was just undoubtedly more beautiful than the illustrated character in the book.

[Jennifer Lynn]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 2:42pm

A few thoughts on that New Yorker article...

I never felt like Winifred Banks, at the end of the movie, was giving up on her suffragette work. Instead, she was no longer hiding it from George, and was even finding a way to advertise it! Plenty of people were going to see that kite!

And as for the book/movie differences...the books were wonderful to read, but they were quite episodic, and would NEVER have made a good movie without changes. Like Peter Jackson's LOTR movies, Disney's Poppins was probably the best possible *film version* that could be made from the books.

Many have considered P. L. Travers a cool person because she "never suffered fools gladly." But I've often gotten the impression that her definition of "fools" meant "anyone who is not Pamela Lyndon Travers"!

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 9:30pm

I definitely see your point.

She was often short and rude with the Sherman brothers on the initial story meetings that are on the Special Edition soundtrack.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/20/06 at 10:47pm

I hate that they didn't record the first "A Man Has Dreams" for the OLC and I also miss the Bank song "Precision and Order" and the "Cherry Tree Lane" reprise that opens the second act. there were a few minutes of space left on the CD and I really wish they would had filled them instead of crapping out on us. I would imagine that there won’t be a Broadway cast recording so there will never be an opportunity to get those songs recorded.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 5:42pm

I think there's a somewhat decent chance of them doing another cast album for Broadway. I hope they do.

[AnythingCanHappen]

Posted: 11/21/06 at 5:58pm

I straight up asked Ashley and a guy I know from the cast and they said it had been brought up once or twice about the recording, but there was really nothing definite at all in either direction.