Does Mary Poppins fly???- Page 2

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 10:13pm

MP flying over the audience is a magical moment, for even the skeptics in the audience. There's something just so exhilarating about hearing the cheers it draws as she rises over each level of the audience.

It's pretty rudimentary flying, especially if you've seen something like Peter Pan. She doesn't go in any particular zig-zag, she just flies in a straight line into the covered catwalk above the balcony. Then she makes her mad dash back to the stage.

[henrybutler]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 10:16pm

thank you james and jordangirl
is there an opening in the new amsterdam theatre for her to fly up into? where is the "covered catwalk"? can you see the mechanics on the ceiling (when the lights are up in the theatre before/after the show?
and i still dont understand how she gets from one side of the proscenium to the other...

Updated On: 12/10/07 at 10:16 PM

[JaredBway]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 10:23pm

its done with 2 sets of ropes. one which brings her from stage right to just beyond center stage, when she reaches this point the ropes made to go from stage right to left unattach and the ropes that move her over the audience take over. its a little more complicated then that, but thats the basic jist of it. ive seen it being rehearsed

[jordangirl]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 10:23pm

I can't help with any more. I'm sorry! The first time I saw it I was on orchestra standing room and the second I was in the middle mezz section, so I couldn't see the ceiling where she flies. I agree that even knowing it's coming, it's still magical.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 10:41pm

The overhanging catwalk hangs from the ceiling and was installed specifically for the show directly above the first rows of the balcony. It apparently cost quite the bundle to put in.

The mechanics are somewhere inside and on top the catwalk, but are difficult to see as they are very well hidden from the audience.

[henrybutler]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 11:08pm

another question, in the broadway production, does bert tap on just the regular new amsterdam theatre proscenium or is there something wider/flatter in place over it/set inside it to walk on and tap on? I remember the new amsterdam proscenium to be kind of rounded and sculptured, not a good walking and tapping surface!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 11:47pm

In reference to the original question: No, she hops on one wooden leg and does an Irish jig.



Okay, seriously I'm joking.

About Bert, I know he taps on the ceiling.

[Jilani]

Posted: 12/10/07 at 11:52pm

I'm pretty easy to please, but I thought the flying effect was magical, even the second and third time that I saw it (first was in London; second and third were in New York). The third time, I was sitting in the Mezzanine, where I thought it was particularly neat (cooler than in the Orchestra).

[B3TA07]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 12:02am

Mary Poppins was a bitch

[winston89]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 1:59am

When she is flying at least in the Broadway production. She has a bit more then a minuet and a half to be down there for the bows. There is a tad bit more action after she flys but not a whole lot. But, surely enough to buy her a bit of time.

Also, one thing that you have to realize about the backstage area of the New Amsterdam is this. That it can get pretty cramped back there. It is not only a matter of her getting down there in time but also everyone moving the hell out of the way to give her all the room she needs.


As for the catwalk. It is pretty much a bridge with walls high enough on both sides so that the audience can't see what is on the platform. Which houses two stage hands to make sure she flys safly/ and who pull her up to the platform when she gets to the top. And the all the mechanical parts that get the flying to work. She exits on one side and there is an elvator that gets her downstairs.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 12/11/07 at 2:22am

I remember finding the flying in Witches of Eastwick in the West End PACKED with emotional meaning and dramatic importance. The Mary Poppins flying... eh.