The Cappies is a writing and awards program that trains high school theatre and journalism students to be expert writers, critical thinkers, and leaders. Student critics vie to be published in local media outlets by attending productions at other schools and writing critical reviews.
By Samuel Corder of Grain Valley High School
Mary Poppins At Summit Christian Academy
Nostalgic elements, fun dance numbers, and songs that will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Does this sound like your type of musical? Come see “Mary Poppins” by Summit Christian Academy. The musical “Mary Poppins” written by Julian Fellows is a comedic show based on the movie made by Walt Disney and the book by P.L. Travers in 1964. The musical first opened in London in 2004 and was on Broadway from 2006 to 2013. It was the first Disney musical to show up on the London stage and won best scenic design at the Tony’s in 2007.
The show is about two children Jane and Michael Banks in need of a nanny. This need is met when Mary Poppins (the magical nanny) arrives and helps teach the children lessons but also helps the children through song and magical adventure with her good friend Bert. Bert is a very mysterious man who we don’t ever know too much about. He will show up in random places and has different jobs from day to day. Bert and Mary Poppins help teach the kids the importance of manners, how you can do anything you set your mind to, and help them bring their family back together.
The chemistry on stage between Bert played by Junius Yancik and Mary Poppins played by Abigail Gleason is the highlight of the show as they share funny moments, beautiful vocal moments, and adorable somber moments. However, many times the ensemble could be more together in choreo and vocals as well as delivery from characters being confusing or sometimes too fast. Many of the other characters also bring the show together such as Mr. Banks played by Eli Skinner, and his children Jane and Micheal who give us good vocal moments and we can not skip over the amazing performance from Miss Andrews played by Violet Darby with the ominous number “Brimstone and Treacle”. together, they bring many scenes alive and make it seem real .
The technical highlight of this show is the costume crew lead by Violet Darby, Regan McCarty, and Jenna Jones. They present us with excellent designs such as Mary Poppins hats and the wigs for some of the ensemble. However the sound at many times leaves mics turned on at the wrong times such as when some actors are off stage and sometimes when actors are on stage dialogue is lost because the mics would not be on. The lighting in the show is absolutely beautiful with the crew lead by Elijah Zicari giving us many beautiful, memorable moments, such as the night sky in step in time, and the lights in brimstone and treacle. The props crew lead by Abby Gleason also takes the cake on the technical side of this show with beautiful works on the props such as the stars, and the letters in supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
“Mary Poppins” at Summit Christian Academy is a show that is absolutely unforgettable. It is a hard task to bring a Disney movie to life and Summit Christian Academy does an amazing job at it bringing audiences that feeling of nostalgia, songs that they cant help but clap along to, and many unforgettable moments.
