The cast and crew of Rexburg Community Theatre’s “Marry Poppins” is putting in the work before their end of the month performances of “Mary Poppins.”
Director Ann Cluff, and actors Malia Lawrence and Parker Morgan, agreed that while many people may know of Mary Poppins because of Julie Andrews’ portrayal in Disney’s 1964 film, the musical’s version of the titular character is a mix of Andrews’ version and the original book character.
Because of the character’s personality shift, Lawrence, who portraying Mary, said she really wanted to play into the “sweet moments” of the musical.
“Julie Andrews’ Mary Poppins is very sweet,” Lawrence said. “And book Mary Poppins is not. She is very snarky and kind of cold sometimes, but the musical is a mix of both of those. I feel like those moments where there really are sweet moments, I really try to dive deep into that because that’s what people think of when they think Mary Poppins.”
Lawrence says attending the show is a fun way to do an act of service, showing support to all those who have put time and effort into the production.
“We have so many people making costumes specifically for this show that, maybe the costumes are on for 15 minutes and it’s not on again, but they’ve put in days of work into it,” Lawrence said. “Any time that you go to one of these shows, there’s so many people you’re supporting. And every time you come in, you’re supporting the community theatre itself and helping allow the arts to keep doing what they’re doing because every bit counts.”
Morgan, who plays Burt, says audience members will see the results of all the hard work volunteers have put into the show. He believes they’ll feel the nostalgia of the1964 film.
“I think there’s definitely something special to it,” Morgan said. "The whole point, well there’s a lot of points in ‘Mary Poppins,’ but Mary is magic right? And I think that we are able to convey that in our production.”
Cluff says tickets sell fast and sell out for closing night performances. She adds that on occasion the fire marshal has allowed overflow seating for shows but will most likely not be able to so for this show because “there’s just too much happening.”
“We sell out on closing night, for RCT it’s always Monday. Lots of people bring their family for family home evening,” Cluff said. “I tell people from day one, especially the cast, get your tickets now if you want to be there on closing night.”
The show is June 27, 28 and 30 at 7 p.m. at the Madison High School Performing Arts Center in Rexburg. You can purchase tickets at the Rexburg Community Theatre's website.
To learn more and listen to the full interview with the cast and director of Mary Poppins, go to BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.