BWW Reviews: FAC's MARY POPPINS a Jolly Holiday Treat

"Anything can happen if you let it," the title character of Mary Poppins declares, and the Fine Arts Center appears to be taking her words to heart. The stage adaptation of P.L. Travers' children's series and, more directly, the Disney film based on them represents the company's most ambitious production in recent memory, not only for the technical requirements involved but the sheer weight of the nostalgia it stands against. Who can hope to compete with the indelible image of Julie Andrews warbling with a songbird, or Dick van Dyke waddling with cartoon penguins? But if FAC's Mary won't supplant the beloved 1964 film in anybody's heart, neither will it disappoint the many ticketholders who are seeking a family-friendly evening of entertainment this holiday.

Good casting of the central character is vital in a story like this, and Jennifer DeDominici is well suited to the task of bringing Mary Poppins to life. With her clear operatic mezzo and gently witty demeanor, she is instantly convincing as the magical nanny who enchants Jane and Michael Banks (Mallory Hybl and Nate Patrick Siebert); it's not surprising when park statues and Queen Victoria start singing her praises. She is properly firm as well, inserting herself into the Banks' stifled home life and leading them to a new understanding of each other in a way that never seems too forceful or brusque. She does tend to overshadow Kevin Pierce as narrator and jack-of-all-trades Bert, but Pierce does smoothly guide audiences through the proceedings and sings well on "Jolly Holiday" and "Chim Chim Cher-ee." (He also pulls double duty in a nice cameo that will get approving nods from film fans.)

The best parts of Julian Fellowes' book are those that expand on the characters of the Banks parents. George (Tom Auclair) is given more depth which allows us to see the heart behind his stern, patriarchal façade earlier on, and Winifred (Hybl's real-life mother Sally) is given an arc that allows her to grow from timid doormat ill-suited for traditional society to a confident woman in her own right. Nearly all the beloved Sherman Brothers tunes from the film have been imported, but only a couple of the new songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe leave an impression: Mary's self-adulation "Practically Perfect" and "Brimstone and Treacle," a grim waltz for Miss Andrew (Jen Lennon), a terrifying anti-Poppins of a nanny who briefly rules the Banks house with an iron hand and a bottle of cod-liver oil. (In a fine showcase of range, Lennon also plays the bird woman who joins DeDominici for a haunting rendition of "Feed the Birds.")

Erik D. Diaz's storybook sets provide a charming stage for the cheerful ensemble numbers and the expected array of magic tricks: a bottomless carpetbag, a disorderly room put to rights, a grey park suddenly bursting with color and, of course, a nanny who flies. And if you can occasionally see the wires (both literal and figurative), there is so much heart and goodwill in the room that it hardly matters.

UPDATE: Due to poular demand, MARY POPPINS has been extended through January 11th. Performances are at the Fine Arts Center, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. For tickets, call 719-634-5583 or visit csfineartscenter.org.

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