Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #47 on Aug 1, 2010, 1:45pm »
STOP PRESS: The Broadway@Bedtime Radio Channel is broadcasting NOW a special programme about the opening of Mary Poppins, featuring interviews with cast and creatives, including Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Richard Sherman, Marina Prior, etc.
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #50 on Aug 5, 2010, 9:02am »
Great clip Eli - thank you.
Philip is just superb as Mr Banks - one of the reviews you posted says it so well...
"As the austere and repressed patriarch George Banks, Philip Quast is superb. This role in lesser hands could be a one-dimensional caricature, but Quast brings to it depth and gravitas as well as that marvelous voice." What the review fails to mention is how funny Philip is too - he moves from austere/repressed to angry to frightened to vunerable to hilarious and then becomes the most wonderful, loving father and husband - just a brilliant performance!!!
Verity is fantastic as Mary Poppins as you say looks as if she has played the role all her life! The whole cast are wonderful and work so hard - special mention from me for Sally-Anne Upton who is just fantastic as Mrs Brill!!
The show is wonderful - fantastic and deserves all the great reviews it is getting!
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #51 on Aug 5, 2010, 11:21am »
Welcome back Jules, glad to see you finally made it to Oz. So great that you could "confirm first hand" the raving reviews about the show, and that Mr Banks' role is so rich and multi-layered.
On a more specific plan: I don't know how familiar you are with the Original London production, but I know that Mr Banks' songs ('A Man Has Dreams' and 'Good For Nothing') used to be longer at the very beginning of the run and were then shamefully "clipped" later on. It would be a great joy to learn that the full lyrics have been reinstated in order to give PQ even more opportunities to shine.
Thank you in advance for sharing any further view about the show.
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #52 on Aug 6, 2010, 11:48am »
Just to say I would rather be back on Cherry Tree Lane than here at work today Eli!! Think this is a show you could never tire of seeing - and with Philip as Mr Banks that is a definite!!!!!
I did not see the London production so cannot say for sure on the songs - but Philip has no "full" songs so to say, so I do believe that they may be the clipped versions you are talking about Eli- but he sings them wonderfully as you can imagine.
My favourite scenes have to be the discovery of his stars and the following interaction with his children and Bert (the most touching performance I have seen in a long, long time) and the scene with the children and Mrs Banks in the nursery near the end! However all Philip's scenes are great - the funny ones especially – one in particular brings the house down!! Don't want to spoil anything for those others going over - they are in for a real treat!! Anyone going who will see it more than once - you should watch Philip at his desk when other action is going on - the detail in his performance is wonderful!
Joined: Jan 2010 Gender: Female Posts: 144 Location: UK
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #53 on Aug 6, 2010, 1:36pm »
As you know already I'm really jealous Great review! Lucky 'people' (I was gonna swear but won't ) who are going. To see it more than one is wonderful I should imagine. Well how can it not be with Philip in it.
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #54 on Aug 8, 2010, 6:00pm »
How did you find Verity Hunt-Ballard? All the reviews were raving about her. Again, it's harder if you can't make comparisons. Personally I wasn't too keen on the original Mary, Laura-Michelle Kelly: vocally she was good, but she played the role far too "sternly" overall, I couldn't believe the Banks kids became so fond of her!
And is it true that Verity speaks/sings in perfect "RP English"? If so, it's a remarkable achievement for a young performer who has never worked outside Australia.
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #55 on Aug 10, 2010, 9:13am »
Verity is just terrific - the reviews are correct!! And yes she does sing and speak in perfect "RP English"!!! Think what she also brings to the role is a sense of fun - she really makes you think that Mary likes to have fun as well as being slightly stern, which she is, yes there is the no nonsense approach but the softer side shines through. My Mum raved about Laura Michelle Kelly when she saw MP in London but from the clips I have seen of her I do think Verity has the edge - perhaps because the softer side comes through. Another thing that does come across so well is that she is not there just for the children but for Mr Banks and the interaction and dialogue between them is lovely.
As an example of how Verity captures the children in the audience one night in the scene where George shouts at everyone and then at Mary a little girl in the audience called out "don't you shout at Mary Poppins" - she was so into the whole thing - it was great!! Also proved Philip was doing a fantastic job too!!!!
The children playing Jane and Michael are all also wonderful - their accents are very "cut glass" English - a great achievement - they are all terrific performers and we were so lucky to see all of them in action over the time we were there!
Getting back to the adults - this cast really is the royalty of Australian theatre - doubt in any other country (as has been said) that Cameron would have got a stellar cast like this together - I do see why he says it is his "dream cast" and Verity is the icing on the cake and the cherry on the top (thinking of kitchen scene!!) - she plays the role of Mary beautifully - in fact she is "Practically Perfect"!!!
Joined: Jan 2010 Gender: Female Posts: 144 Location: UK
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #57 on Aug 16, 2010, 6:30pm »
Welcome back Eli Thankyou for the wonderful 6 seconds I'm hoping there may be more as the description for the clip only calls it part 1, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Re: Mary Poppins « Reply #58 on Aug 19, 2010, 10:52am »
If you're having a hard day, but can afford to sit at your PC for at least 10 consecutive minutes check the updated AUDIO INTERVIEWS Page: THE most entertaining interview with PQ is there to put a big smile on your face for the rest of the week! http://www.allthingsquast.info/press/audio.htm
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Great review! Lucky 'people' (I was gonna swear but won't 