SPRING MILLS — The Penns Valley High School Thespians will present the musical “Mary Poppins” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, and Saturday, March 5, in the school’s auditorium.
The musical is being directed by Penns Valley band director Darris DeRemer. Phil Stattel directs the pit orchestra, which is composed of both student and adult musicians from the community. Kathy Black serves as costume director, and Nicole Goodman is the show’s choreographer.
DeRemer said there are 40 student cast members from grades 7 through 12, and a stage crew of 10 members is assisted by Ryan Carty. The group began rehearsing in early January, and were hampered by a few snow days and after-school activity cancellations. “Eight weeks is tight, but the kids are doing really well,” he said. He noted that the choreography includes some tap dancing, which most of the performers have no experience in, but they’re learning quickly.
Mary Poppins is a musical based on the similarly titled series of children’s books by P. L. Travers and on the 1964 Disney film, and is a fusion of various elements from the two. A Broadway production opened in November 2006, and received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and won for Best Scenic Design.
In the musical, Bert (Keith Griffith), a jack-of-all-trades, invites the audience into the world of the dysfunctional home of the Banks family in London in 1910. The young Banks children, Jane (Ashley Griffith) and Michael (Caleb Done), dismissed as hopelessly spoiled and misbehaved, have sent yet another nanny packing. With a father (David Krum) who works constantly and mother (Virginia Stattel) who is always distracted, Jane and Michael have suffered without strong caretakers in their lives.
Then, the magical Mary Poppins (Raven Althouse) flies in on the wind to become the children’s new nanny, bringing a combination of whimsy, magic and disciplined common sense to the children’s lives. Together, they go on memorable and magical adventures, and also learn the importance of a tidy nursery and of taking the medicine they need (with a spoonful of sugar, of course). Mary Poppins’ transforming influence does not stop with the children. Eventually she teaches the grown-ups to open up and realize that “anything can happen if you let it.”
The musical contains about 25 songs, several with accompanying choreography.
Tickets for the musical are available online from www.showtix4u.com, and will also be available at the door. Cost is $8 for adults, and $4 for students in grades kindergarten through 12th.
