Mary Poppins- Bronner Performing Arts Center- Frankenmuth

 Mary Poppins - Bronner Performing Arts Center 

Laura Anne Miller

Mary Poppins is the story of the disjointed Banks family, made up of the distant father, George Banks (Nicholas Osburn), suppressed mother, Winifred Banks (Emma Dorsey), and naughty children, Michael Banks (Jack Rzepka), and Jane Banks (Ainsley Roberts). The family loses yet another nanny, Katie Nanna (Allison Maynard), and is now in search of another. The Banks children create an advertisement, but Mr. Banks throws it in the fire, where it shoots up and is intercepted by Mary Poppins (Amanda Stewart). Mary Poppin seeks to tame the Banks children and ultimately unify the Banks family. Along the way, the Banks children and Mary have fantastical adventures and learn to see things in a different way. Meanwhile, George Banks is faced with the potential of losing his job because of a choice he made at work and Winifred Banks walks around somewhat helpless, looking for her place in their world. The Banks children are given the opportunity to show growth, but fail to do so and Mary Poppins disappears, leading to disastrous results ( and Brimstone and Treacle). Mary Poppins returns and things change. Mr. Banks doesn’t lose his job. The Banks children change their attitudes, and Mrs. Banks finally stands up to someone.Having helped the family to reunite and each family member to make a change, Mary takes her leave.

Overall, this play was well done, directed by Leon Kratz. There were some beautifully done bits of “magic” such as dishes returning themselves to the shelf and the nursery fireplace lifting up for Mary Poppins to walk through. Mary Poppins flew across the stage multiple times with the Banks children joining her at one point. This is a fantastic visual effect that not many area theaters have means to do. The musical numbers were well done (vocal director, Greg Austin and musical director, Quin Cramer). The sets were well done (set designer Dark Hoffman) and creatively designed so as best to make use of the space. All the musical numbers had accompanying choreography(choreographer Melanie Kratz), some of which included most of the cast, which was upwards of 40 people. Choreographing musical numbers for that many people is no small feat, especially when the numbers include children. 

The music was played by an actual orchestra and was composed of very talented musicians, including some students. Live music definitely enhanced the stage performance experience. However, at times, the music overpowered some of the background characters who were not mic’d. That was a bummer because they also worked hard on their character and were not able to be heard much beyond the first rows. 

As enjoyable as this musical was, there were some drawbacks. For starters, the first act was around 90 minutes.  Little ones in the audience, (which it appeared there were several on this occasion) might have found it hard to engage for that long. It was hard for older ones to sit still, especially in the seats at the Bronner Performing Arts Center. The second act was shorter, but it still made for a long production. 

Some of the cast had an accent and some did not. The Banks children and Mr. Banks didn’t seem to have accents, but Mrs. Banks did. Some characters, such as Bert, needed an accent. Both Bert (Austin Butterfield) and Northbrook (Joseph Aaron Swords) beautifully executed their accents. Butterfield gave a wonderful and believable Cockney accent while Swords gave a gentle lilting Irish brogue. Both were very convincing and very well done. However, some characters did not need an accent and generally made things a little confusing. 

As a musical, this production had several musical numbers. For the most part, the choreography was well done. A few times, it was a little lackluster, but overall it was great. The larger numbers, with all the ensemble, were well done, although a little chaotic at times with everyone moving around in a smaller space. Given how many cast members were on stage, that is to be expected. Everyone appeared to be in sync and knew what they were doing. At one point, a majority of the cast came out for “Step in Time” wearing tap shoes. Tap can be very unforgiving if someone missteps. This was not the case and the company did a fantastic job with this number. 

On the positive side, there were several funny moments in the show. The butler, Robinson Ay (Charles Allport), was hilarious, often doing physical comedy in the background of a scene or going rounds with Mrs. Brill (Kristin Cantu), the housekeeper. 

Miss Lark (Linda Terburgh), the Banks’ neighbor, is often seen in the musical out walking her dog and in the presence of Admiral Boom (Eric Pattok). This production had cleverly given her a dog puppet instead of a real dog or a toy to drag around. At one point, the dog goes from Bert (Austin Butterfield) to Miss Lark. The handoff was seamless. While we all knew it was a puppet, the illusion was not broken with this transfer. It was seamless. The use of a dog puppet was fabulous and very well done. 

During the first scene in the park when Mary Poppins takes Jane and Michael on an outing, everyone at the park is ill-tempered and dressed in dark, gloomy clothing. Bert and Mary Poppins turn everyone’s disposition around with a song. The ensemble actors remove coats and outer garments to reveal brightly colored clothing. This quick change was well done and very quick. All the actors quickly shed their coats and turned right into choreography. Instead of letting all the coats sit on the ground, they were thrown into a cart and discretely moved off stage. 

Most actors seemed established in their roles. The children, Michael (Rzepka) and Jane (Roberts) gave depth to their characters, which is rare for child actors to do. Mary Poppins (Stewart) had a beautiful voice and did an amazing job as the lead role - especially since this is her first time in community theater. Mrs. Banks (Dorsey) did a lovely job singing as well, but seemed to lack some depth for her character. It wasn’t clear how she was trying to play Mrs. Banks. Other notable characters include Eric Pattok as Admiral Boom and Von Hussler. Those were two very different roles and he played them both uniquely and distinctly. Jeremy Love also played multiple roles (Park Keeper and Bank Chairman) and was not identifiable as the same person until I read the program. He played both very well. 

Overall Mary Poppins was worth seeing. Unfortunately, the show only ran February 14-16, 2025, so if you missed it this weekend, you missed the run. Yes, the show had some downfalls, but they were outweighed by the special effects, charming cast, beautiful set, and wonderful music. Several actors shone in their roles and should definitely make a return to the stage.