I haven't seen the show yet, but it sounds like they tried to create their own, original "dark" scene for it, in an effort to evoke the feeling of Travers's darker chapters (like "Bad Tuesday," which has been mentioned above, or the chapter in which Jane goes into the world painted on a Delft bowl and then can't get out.) I don't understand why they didn't just base their "scary" scene on one of these original ideas from the books--I guess maybe they would have been to hard to stage. (Oh, for the person who asked about the original "Bad Tuesday," it was "cleaned up" for later editions because it contained some material that was pretty racist--they get to the South and are greeted by a Mammy-type character and two little "pickaninnies" eating watermelon!)
I have to disagree with the whole "American children are coddled and sheltered" argument. From what I can see, American parents are dragging their kids to all sorts of inappropriate movies. I see it all the time when I go to adult movies with my dh--parents are at "R" rated films with small children--I suppose because they don't want to pay for a sitter, or just don't care if their child is bored/scared/exposed to really inappropriate material. I've also been to homes where families have the TV going all day long--news, Jerry Springer, whatever comes across the screen, their kids see it all. Maybe they are just blocking it out. I hope so!
Trying to keep your kids away from material that they are not old enough to process/understand/cope with is not "coddling," it's good parenting. Every parent has to know his/her own kids and what they are ready to see (which doesn't always match the rating system for movies--my kids are now 12 and 14, and they have seen some "R" rated movies, but only ones I've checked out first.) I have no problem with this version of "Mary Poppins" being darker/scarier than the movie, but parents need to be aware of the differences between the movie and the play, and not bring their kids if they're not ready for it. I think the big problem is going to be those people who just come to the city, maybe get on line at TKTS, don't really know what show they're going to see, don't do any research, and just pick "Mary Poppins" because they've seen the movie. Those are the ones who are going to have to carry their crying kids out of the theater (at least, I hope they will take them out!)
Karen
Maggie-the-schnoodle