Mary Poppins is, at its core, a fantasy about healing.
At the start, the Banks family is broken: the children are so wild, no nanny can manage them, and paterfamilias George is cold to his wife, fixated on business, and, in general, emotionally unavailable. Into this wounded household comes the magician figure, Mary Poppins, who brings the children happily under control, and helps turn George into a loving husband and caring father. Her methods are literally miraculous: when she’s around, statues come alive, toys dance and sing, a bleak landscape becomes a gloriously colorful park, and a humanoid being — Mary herself — flies.
Of course, this wonder-worker can’t stay: once the Banks family is whole, Mary no longer has a purpose there, and can move on to other screwed-up broods in need of her services. But she leaves with a message: “Anything can happen if you let it.” No damaged being is beyond repair. Keep the faith, and even the most mangled organism can be mended.
It’s clear enough why this parable is appreciated by audiences, adults as well as children, and when you figure in the splendid acting and singing by the Broadway touring company (at Tampa’s Straz Center for the Performing Arts), you have lots of good reasons to see an often stirring, lovely show. But I have to warn you: there are moments mid-musical when writer Julian Fellowes more or less answers all urgent questions, leaving us unsure as to why the play’s continuing at all.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.