Review: CPA's MARY POPPINS Flies High in Nashville

If writer P.L. Travers, the notoriously protective creator of Mary Poppins, was even half so prickly as we have been led to believe she was - thanks in large part to the screenplay for Saving Mr. Banks, the film retelling of her experiences with Walt Disney, et al, over the film adaptation of her beloved work - it's very easy to imagine how she might cringe at the thought of high school students taking on the musical theater version of her timeless story. However, if she knew in advance that it was being produced by Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy, under the direction of an artist as exacting as Paula Flautt, we rather think Miss Travers would be pleased - and without reservation.

Make no bones about it, and to be quite certain, CPA's production of Mary Poppins the Musical, the show that won critical acclaim, a bevy of awards, and loyal audiences on both sides of "the pond" in West End, Broadway and touring companies during the early part of this century, gives the show and Miss Travers their due. CPA's Mary Poppins is as delightful and as charming as its titular heroine, herself, by turns sweetly sentimental and laugh out loud funny, featuring some truly extraordinary performances by teenagers so remarkably talented and poised that they are sure to make you forget they are still in their "formative" years. In short, CPA's Mary Poppins sets the standard for every high school production we're likely to see in the coming years.

Incorporating many of the original tunes created for the much revered Disney film (starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke) by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, the score features new songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, which help to draw a sharper focus on the family dynamic and the interdependence of the people who occupy the upstairs and downstairs of 17 Cherry Tree Lane. The estimable Julian Fellowes (Academy Award winner for Gosford Park, and creator of Downton Abbey) is the book writer for this production, exhibiting once again the never-ending abundance of knowledge of the Edwardian era that typifies his work.

Mary Poppins, the musical, retains its phantasmagorical, fantastical characters and plotline, but in relating the story originally written by P.J. Travers-which served as the basis for the acclaimed Disney film that still has its claim on our hearts and our imaginations-the musical stage adaptation has a deeper, more genuine resonance, certain to delight and to entertain, but just as likely to touch your heart.

Beautifully conceived, exquisitely realized and wonderfully performed by students who are well-cast in their roles, Mary Poppins at CPA hews closer to a national touring company mounting of the show than any other production staged on the secondary school level. With stunning design attributes - scenic design is by CPA alumnus Matt Logan, artistic director of Studio Tenn (one of Tennessee's most prestigious professional theater companies), lighting design by Shane Caudill and costume design by Paula Flautt and Paula Mulvihill - the production is a visual feast, as imaginative and creative as any you may have seen.

With such impressive design providing a physical backdrop for the production, musical director Lynn Jung and choreographer Lesa Roman have collaborated with Flautt to bring her overall vision to life on the CPA stage (which, for some inexplicable reason, is part of a gymnasium - even after a recent multi-million dollar high school expansion at CPA) with such a heightened sense of theatrical magic that audiences are sure to be dazzled by its artful blending of professionalism, creativity and sheer chutzpah.

Roman's choreography punctuates the play's action with rapturous moments of theatrical glee, particularly during the "Step In Time" number that sends her cast all over the stage, into the audience and even onto the theater's ceiling, thanks to the wonders of Flying By Foy, the legendary artisans of Broadway's lighter-than-air magic. "Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious" is brightly colored and impressively danced, leaving the audience awestruck by its insouciance and theatricality.

In the eponymous role of Mary Poppins, CPA senior Holly Hill delivers a charming performance, at once intimately nuanced and yet somehow larger than life - in fact, you might describe her in the same way Travers refers to Mary as "practically perfect in every way." Poised, confident and focused, Hill's winning portrayal is delightful - and her high-flying theatrics ensure the audience's approval.

Hill is, of course, just one member of Flautt's large ensemble of young actors who distinguish themselves with outstanding performances, including George Fenton and Harley Seger as George and Winifred Banks. Fenton is all bluster and bravado as the family patriarch, while Seger's pitch-perfect performance is nothing short of stunning. Remember her name now, I advise you, because clearly it's one you'll be hearing a lot about in the future.

Other performers worthy of note include Shaina Toledo, hardly recognizable as both the Birdwoman and Mrs. Corry, lending her lovely voice to some of the night's most memorable musical numbers; Charlotte Wallace is terrific as the acerbic Mrs. Brill; Lucas Eytchison is well-cast as Robertson Ay, the clumsy yet endearing footman; and Johnathan Sottek impresses in several roles, including Neleus, the statue come to life, and as the Chairman of Mr. Banks' banking firm. Mary Marguerite Hall and Henry Fenton are outstanding as Jane and Michael Banks.

But it's Nathan Thomas, as this production's Bert (the chimney sweep who captures Mary Poppins' heart, if even for a moment, and the audience's for the entirety of the play) who virtually steals the show with his expressive, thoroughly committed performance. Charming and affable, Thomas is remarkably self-assured with stage presence that rivals Hill's, completely filling the theatre with his stunning performance, particularly as he leads the ensemble through Roman's "Step in Time" choreography with elan and panache.

• Mary Poppins, The Broadway Musical. Based on the stories of P.L. Travers and The Walt Disney Film. Original music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Book by Julian Fellowes. New songs and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Directed by Paula Flautt. Musical direction by Lynn Jung. Choreography by Lesa Roman. Presented by CPA Fine Arts at Christ Presbyterian Academy, Nashville. April 16-18.

Photos by Heather Klausner

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