Mary Poppins- WILL be re-tooled for Broadway

As I had suspected, Disney will re-tool (i.e. lighten) Mary Poppins before it comes to Broadway. I have heard this from good sources. Watch for the book to be closer to the film and I would not be surprised to see Disney add a splashy opening number (maybe an upbeat Chim-Chee-Ree). It looks like Disney will be releasing Mary Poppins after they launch Tarzan.

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Where did you get your information from? As I saw it twice in London over the past two weeks, I am more and more certain that it only needs minimal tweaking (pertaining to the book- certian British jokes that won't translate- example: Hadrian's Wall ect...)

In terms of production numbers, there are enough musical numbers that are energetic and fun within the context of the show. If they choose to rework the opening, it would confuse the audience in terms of emotional highs and lows. The opening is perfect considering the mysterious aspect of the musical.

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I agree. Who needs Tarzan when you have Mary Poppins. I'll be mad if they "re-tool" it. I've heard the cd and I love it just the way it is.

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Updated On: 7/1/05 at 09:22 PM

UGH! Why do they think we cant handle it!?

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Chitty was not re-tooled.

You will all hate me for saying this but Disney's decision to re-tool will be a commercially as well as an ARTISTICALLY correct decision.

Both London's premier critic, Michael Billington and Ben Brantley saw the same problems with the show.

To quote Billington in the Guardian, "Ecstasy, or a moment of pure transcendence, is the ultimate justification of the musical. It is there in The Rain in Spain number in My Fair Lady. Or in America in West Side Story. Or in Blow Gabriel Blow in Anything Goes. Or, to be more topical, in Springtime for Hitler in The Producers. But it is a long time coming in Mary Poppins."

To quote Brantley's review in the New York Times, "As designed by Bob Crowley and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, the show's imagery is pitched straight to the id. This tension both makes "Mary Poppins" bearable for restless adults and keeps it from sustaining the joyous sense of wonder it is clearly reaching for. "

Disney wants to re-tool the show to re-capture that "joyous sense of wonder" that the film had. This is "Mary Poppins", not "Follies" or "Sweeney Todd". This show needs to be LIGHT and filled with magic...

I like dark shows. Follies, Passion and Sweeney Todd are some of my favorite shows. Mary Poppins, however, should be a show that makes all of us find our "inner child" and not be a dark show.

I hope Disney gets Tommy Tune to re-tune the musical and not give it to someone like Jerry Zaks who'll add cheap laughs and gimmicks.

P.S. My source is someone who works for Disney Theatricals.

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"WONDER" is a PERFECT word to describe what MARY POPPINS should be.

From the clips I saw, it touched the term but didn't quite achieve it.

I think improving the show is a SMART move as well. It shows Disney wants to do it RIGHT.

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Hmm. I saw and loved this show in London. Why on earth would they even consider re-tooling anything is beyond me. The show is splendid. I don't even think it needs tweaking. My intuition tells me this gossip from "reliable" sources is all wrong. We will see.

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Jilani,
I agree with you. However I was not familiar with the P.L. Travers books. Only with the movie. And I had no trouble as a viewer accepting the staged musical as it's own entity from begining to end. I loved the show. I hope they don't mess with it too much. It would really be a shame.

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Dame,
That's awesome that you approached the show with an open mind. I agree that it would be a shame if they changed things much. It's sad that Disney doesn't give its American audience more credit. Heaven forbid that the theatergoing experience should actually broaden people's horizons and change how they think about a set of characters that they thought they knew from the movie! Of course, this is all assuming the re-tooling rumors are true. Maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.

They should cut the toy number ("Temper Temper") not because it's dark but an awful song.

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The first track on the cast recording, with the current nanny leaving and the Banks family stressing over finding a new one is certainly not dark, so I am guessing the show begins with a scene of some sort before this event? Could someone who's seen the show please explain how the show begins? Thanks for any help! =)

i just hope to god that lindsey hately gets another shot at broadway....


would Kill to see the show if she came to new york

On separate threads here there is talk of changing both Billy Elliot and now Mary Poppins for American audiences. I've not seen either show being in Australia, however there seems to me a perception that these shows are being "dumbed down" for a less attentive American audience.

While it may be fine to change some points in order to explain the story for an American audience I would hope that they don't replace substance with flash/colou/ and movement for the sake of it. Not all audiences want Mamma Mia!