On Friday, November 10th, St. James Players opens its 45th musical season by bringing the mirth and magic of Mary Poppins to the stage at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough.
Directed by Natalie Dorsett (with assistance from Shelly Moody, Margaret Peiper, Barb Mills, Fred Batley, Jim Mills, and musical director Dustin Bowers), the musical stars Gillian Harknett as the magical nanny and Warren Sweeting as Burt the chimney sweep.
However, Mary Poppins is not just another entry in the Players’ long repertoire of fall musicals. It has become an important show for the Players as the group continues to rebuild its brand as a purveyor of family-friendly theatre.
Natalie was inspired to pitch the show to the St. James Players board after watching a production of the musical last year in Toronto at the Lower Ossington Theatre.
“I saw Mary Poppins in Toronto, in which Kate Suhr played Mary, and I fell in love with it,” Natalie says.
“At intermission, my husband Chris looked over at me and said ‘You want to direct this show, don’t you?’ I knew I had to do this show, and I presented it to the board.”
Although St. James Players has a long tradition of presenting family-friendly theatre, for a number of years recently the group tried a different direction by presenting bigger shows with more mature content. Although the shows were well-received by audiences, as St. James Players strayed further away from family entertainment, the group found itself losing its sense of identity — along with its core audience.
Last year, the group decided to return to its roots with a very successful production of The Wizard of Oz. Mary Poppins is a continuation along that path, re-establishing St. James’ brand in the theatre community.
“This year it’s our 45th anniversary and it’s big,” Natalie says. “We need to come back to who we are. We really all sat back and talked about what had to happen to bring us back to what we used to be. We’ve done some fantastic shows over the years, but they weren’t necessarily the kind of shows our patrons wanted to see.
“St. James tried something new. We had amazing directors that were coming to us with fantastic shows. Les Miserables is an incredible show. Chicago and The Producers are fantastic shows. But our customers didn’t want that. It didn’t have anything to do with the quality of the show, but it just wasn’t a St. James show.
“I think it’s kind of like if The Theatre on King did Mary Poppins. That’s not where you’d go see that kind of show. It could be the best show in the world, but it doesn’t matter if that’s not what the customer wants to see. That’s what we had to get back to at St. James.”
Like many people, Natalie agrees that the key to St. James success has always been presenting shows for the family.
“St. James Players is about family,” she says. “We put on shows where you can bring your grandma, you can bring your Mom, and you can bring your eight year old. It’s what St. James is best at. Those are the kind of shows where I think it showcases us the best. Those types of shows where the curtain opens and there is this fantastic set full of colour. Those are the kind of shows that makes St. James what we are.”
For Mary Poppins, Natalie and her team have brought together a cast of 40 performers of all ages. While attending a Sunday afternoon rehearsal, I could feel the passion and positivity from this tight-knit group of high-energy people.
Despite late nights and a cold virus that was going through the group, the performers stepped up their game to give a performance that was filled with so much joy and life that I couldn’t help but feel the sense of warmth and love that is being put into this show.
In the role of Mary Poppins is actress Gillian Harkness. Although she has been in a number or productions before, Mary Poppins is Gillian’s first starring role. Natalie believes that Gillian, filled with a warm standoffishness, has become the living embodiment of the show’s iconic character.
“Gillian hasn’t had the chance to be given a lot of leads, but she just is Mary Poppins,” Natalie says. “She walks into the room and she has that energy. She’s got that likeable but kind of distant nature that Mary Poppins has. With Mary you are kind of unsure if she’s going to hug you or not. Gillian plays that so well. She understands who Mary is, and she’s so easy to direct.”
“I’m very much a background person,” Gillian admits. “I don’t mind supporting people, but being at the front is a little nerve-racking. But I’ve got great people backing me up in this show. I’ve got so many supportive people that it’s not that hard to take a chance and put myself out there.
“I’ve kind of balanced Mary between the way Julie Andrews played her in the movie, and the way that Mary was in the book. Julie Andrews played her as very bubbly and bright, but in the book Mary was more stern but with a magical element to her that made kids love her. I don’t want to be the strict version, but I don’t want to be excited and over the top about everything all the time.”
“The problem is that the moment Gillian and I step on stage, people are going to start drawing comparisons to the movie,” adds actor Warren Sweeting, who plays the show’s leading male character Burt (who was played in the Disney film by Dick Van Dyke). “What we do is try to create a character that the movie was trying to represent, but step away from people’s preconceived ideas of how Burt or Mary should be.”
Once one of the most prolific leading men in Peterborough musical theatre, Warren has been absent from centre stage for a while now. The role of Burt is a major comeback for this talented and much-loved local actor.
“Warren brings so much experience to the stage,” Natalie says. “He hasn’t done a lot in the last few years because he’s particular, but he has been practicing for Burt for months. He brings a really great presence to the show and a lot of experience, which is really important for the kids.”
Nearly as enigmatic as Mary herself, Burt is an unusual character engulfed in his own mystery. Warren gives his own interesting take on the friendly chimney sweep.
“I read an article where the author tried to break down where Burt came from,” Warren explains. “In that particular article, they figured that Burt was probably the son of the bank chairman and that he left home and rebelled.
“They also figured that Mary Poppins, who is magical and doesn’t age, was actually his nanny and Burt fell in love with her. Burt, not being magical, grew up to a certain age and that’s why he is so infatuated with Mary. So Burt is this wandering happy guy who helps people get back on track with their lives.
“The story also is that all the chimney sweeps are guardian angels. The idea behind the song Step in Time is that they step in, just in time before disaster hits, to move you along and get you through that hard time.”
Although Mary and Burt are the iconic characters of the show, Natalie points out that it’s actually Mary’s wards Michael and Jane Banks, played by 11-year-old Ben Freeman and 13-year-old Macayla Vaughn, who have the most stage time and the majority of the lines. This is a huge feat for these two these two young actors.
“Michael and Jane were the two roles that we knew were going to be the hardest to cast,” Natalie says. “Mary Poppins and Burt are important roles, but the kids would be the hardest. We thought maybe we might go with a fifteen and a thirteen year old. But Macayla came in and blew us away. Her energy and tenacity and stage presence is amazing.
“Ben’s Mom plays Mrs. Banks, and she has two sons and we asked if they would want to audition. When Ben came in for his audition it was the same thing. Dustin Bowen, my musical director, squeezed my hand because he knew that Ben was exactly what we needed. Ben’s got this perfect cheeky nature. Both of these kids are just amazing.”
In the St. James Players production, the roles of Jane and Michael have more of an edge then they did in the Disney movie.
“Michael Banks is a spoiled little boy who lives with a rich family and does lot of mean things to nannies,” says Ben of his character.
“And Jane is a spoiled girl who thinks that she can just rule everyone,” Macayla adds.
“Basically the plot is Mary is trying to fix us,” Ben continues. “In some ways it’s difficult to make a character change, but it’s a gradual change.”
Although both Ben and Macayla have performed in plays before, being pushed into the spotlight has been a big responsibility, but they have taken up the challenge. Ben offers a unique perspective to this, saying that Mary Poppins has given him a chance to actually act.
“In some shows the kids are just there,” he says. “The difference between that and this show is that we have actual lines. When a show has kids that are standing around, they don’t pick kids who can act because they don’t need to.”
Ben and Macayla are two of eight kids in Mary Poppins. When attending the rehearsal I was impressed by how attentive, engaged, and talented the young members of Natalie’s cast are.
“I wanted children involved because they finish this kind of production,” Natalie says. “When all you see on stage are adults for a family show, there is something missing. They add that fine detail and the kids are such a whimsical aspect to a show. When you look at their faces you are drawn right in.
“I also think that when kids are coming to see it and they see other kids on stage, it makes a difference. They realize that they could do this too. That’s the whole point.”
I asked Ben and Macayla, nearing the end of a long and often grueling rehearsal schedule, what they plan to do when the show is over.
“I’m going to sleep,” answers Ben with a grin.
“I’m going to get ready for the next one,” Macayla says. “I like acting a lot because we are all like a family.”
I can’t even begin to express the joy I had from watching the Mary Poppins cast rehearse “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Step in Time”. The music, the dancing, the joy, and the energy was addicting. Despite the fact that it was still a work in progress, I smiled so much that my face hurt afterwards.
I know that this show is going to be something very special, and not just because St. James needs to reset its direction but perhaps because all of us need it. Mary Poppins is a chance for us to turn away from the cynicism and disasters we see on the news and social media, and just take a few hours to join Mary Poppins and Burt on their jolly holiday.
“We all need this show right now,” Natalie says. “We all need to shut our TV off, and get out and support each other and enjoy one another. There is so much bad stuff going on in the world. This is an escape. Mary’s flying, and she’s talking to birds, and there’s dancing chimney sweeps on a rooftop. It sounds so ridiculous that it makes it so magical.”
Mary Poppins opens on November 10th and runs until November 18th at Showplace Performance Centre . Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors and available in person at the Showplace box office (290 George St. N., Peterborough), by calling 705-742-7469, or online at www.showplace.org.
