THE CAST of Midcoast Youth Theater’s production of “Mary Poppins.” From left, Ronan Cullina as Michael Banks, Caitlin Ellis as Jane Banks, Julia Nadeau as Mary Poppins, Michael Blakemore as Ber t, Hali Isaacson as understudy Jane and Joshua Allard as understudy Michael.
Midcoast Youth Theater actors have a job to get done next weekend and it’s certain there will be more than one element of fun.
The theater will stage “Mary Poppins” in five shows, starting Thursday, May 3, at Brunswick High School’s Crooker Theater. Shows will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, as well as 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 6.
The musical, based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney film, is directed by Tammy Holmes. It also features Midcoast Youth Theater’s largest ever cast of nearly 120 members, ranging in age from 4-70, from Brunswick, Topsham, Harpswell, Bath, Freeport, Gray, Edgecomb, Gardiner and other surrounding areas.
“Mary Poppins” came to life in author P.L. Travers’s series of eight childrens’ books that told the story of a magical English nanny sent to straighten out the Bank’s family. The first book was published in 1934, but it wasn’t until 1964 that Walt Disney’s “Mary Poppins” was released, based only loosely on the original book series. Author P. L. Travers resisted selling the stage rights to the Mary Poppins stories for many years, as a result of her dislike of the 1964 film version. Travers eventually sold the stage rights to London theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh.
The score is filled with timeless classics such as “Feed the Birds,” “Jolly Holiday,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and the Academy Award®-winning “Chim- Chim Cher-ee.” Linda Gardiner who plays Winifred Banks also served as the choreographer for the big tap number “Step in Time.”
Tickets will be $15 at the door, but may be purchased at a discount — $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, and $8 for children younger than age 5 — online.
Midcoast Youth Theater is a non-profit organization that gives children the opportunity to perform in full-length musicals. We produce two multi-age shows — one in the spring and one in the fall— and four youth-only shows in the summer, divided by age groups.
For more information or to buy tickets online, visit midcoastyouththeater.org.
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