Theatre Review: Mary Poppins has been Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Mary Poppins - two extra matinee performances. Photo / Supplied

Hamilton Operatic's production of Mary Poppins is like a jar of mixed lollies — all sweetness in different colours and shapes.

Set around the turn of last century, the story opens around the fortunes of the Banks family where patriarch George, a wealthy financier, played by baritone Scot Hall, and wife Winifred, soprano Jayne Tankersley, are at their wits end.

A family of their social profile just must have a nanny to keep the children under control so Winifred is free to do important things like entertain and support worthy causes.

But Jane, Ava Downey, and Michael, Ollie Neil, are precocious brats and have done their best to terrorise a list of nannies into abandoning ship.

A miracle arrives in Mary Poppins, soprano Shaan Kloet, as somewhere between a governess and a saint complete with magic powers. Poppins returns decorum to the household and promptly decamps, by flying off. This allows George's own former nanny, Miss Andrew, real-life school principal Fiona Bradley, to return and set about controlling the children with Victorian thoroughness and understandable enthusiasm. But Andrew's techniques backfire and Poppins returns and takes charge of the Banks children with unwavering confidence in her own merits.

While the city is in the throes of deciding a new major theatre, Operatic has made do with the Claudelands Arena, a modern flexible venue but one which was designed for sports events and exhibitions rather than theatre.

Nevertheless, the cavernous interior was cleverly arranged and augmented with a temporary proscenium arch to allow the needed flying scenes — including chimney sweep Bert, Ben Thomas, who walks up the wall and clean across the ceiling. Apart from a few comments about 'hard seats' the audience was so focused on the kaleidoscopic action on stage that only the fussy would concern themselves with the details.

The professionally-designed and built set is a wonder in itself, a two-storey cube that unfolds like a giant Victorian dolls' house and is worked back and forth by the stage hands as the scenes change.

Mary Poppins is well known for its music, catchy tunes including the whimsical Chim Chima Cher-ee, the mischievous A Spoon Full of Sugar and the riotous Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, will continue to go around in your head for days.

A live orchestra, led by Timothy Carpenter is established immediately below the stage and allows the audience to realise the association of music and on-stage action.

The cast is an interesting cross section of professionals drawn from the Waikato and further afield, and local amateur talent including many well-known faces.

Their performance backgrounds are extensive and startling.

Poppins is studded with impressive dance sequences handled by choreographer Sonja McGirr Garrett.

A grand piece of musical theatre in the genre of Oliver! and Annie with 19th century undertones of Gilbert and Sullivan and music hall, Operatic's Mary Poppins can be seen at the Claudelands Arena until December 9. Tickets from Ticketek.