As another Chicago autumn morphs into winter, there’s a summer wind blowing through Lincolnshire for the second straight year.
Chicagoland-based Summer Naomi Smart doesn’t simply portray “Mary Poppins” in Marriott Theatre’s current production of the family-favorite musical; she mutates into her. No doubt, on her off days Smart’s friends have to tell her, “Enough with the British accent, already.”
This is the latest in a full year of lady leads for the talented triple threat from Utah—Edythe Herbert in Marriott’s “My One and Only” last fall and winter; Jenny Lind in Mercury Theatre’s “Barnum” this spring; and Fiona in Chicago Shakespeare’s “Shrek” over the summer.
As Poppins, Smart is practically perfect in every way, minus the practically.
She’s complemented by a flawlessly loveable sidekick, Bert the chimney sweep, played by area favorite Bernie Yvon. He accomplishes a touching combination of protective big brother and smitten suitor while narrating the tale of the flying nanny who has thrilled audiences young and old since the children’s books of P.L. Travers and the 1964 Walt Disney movie starring Julie Andrews.
It’s a fitting season for “Mary Poppins,” who summons some of the same mysticism as Santa Claus to show children (and, sometimes, harder-to-convince adults) that, indeed, “Anything can happen if you let it.”
This tale centers around London’s frenetic Banks family, whose brats-by-neglect children (played wonderfully on opening night by Madison Gloria Olszewski and Johnny Rabe) need a bit of Poppins’ snark along with an occasional spoonful of sugar to absorb the morality lessons only the sassy-but-adorable nanny can impart. A full synopsis of the well-known story, based on the 2006-2013 Broadway production can be found here.
The Marriott production includes a number of musical highlights, not relegated to the known standards like “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” “Feed the Birds” is a soulful, iTunes-worthy duet from Bird Woman Rebecca Finnegan and Smart. And Alex Sanchez’s stunning choreography in the chimney sweep showstopper, “Step in Time,” is sure to bring down the house nightly (twice on Saturdays and Sundays).
All this said, the noticeable flaw in the Marriott production is the creative team’s failure to grasp Mary Poppins’ greatest theme: “If you reach for the stars, all you get are the stars. But we’ve found a whole new spin; if you reach for the heavens, you get the stars thrown in.”
Indeed this is an entire cast of stars, including Susan Moniz and Rod Thomas as the Banks parents and Paula Scrofano and Matthew Crowle as the family’s fun-loving servants.
But cheesy animation on eight enormous screens and a rather pathetic rooftop setting is a pitiful heavenly grasp. While it may not be entirely fair to compare Marriott’s production to the eight-year Broadway run and its spawned Chicago editions that played downtown as recently as October 2011, it’s not totally unjust, either.
As a recipient of eight Tony nominations, “Mary Poppins” won one for best scenic design. Marriott’s creative team should have known better than to compete with fans’ short-term memories of upside-down proscenium dance and a flying Poppins. They needed to go all-in (perhaps not possible for the room) or very minimalist (which Marriott does very well). Instead they settled by failing to find their whole new spin.
The good news for patrons is that Marriott has a whole lot of shining stars within its reach. And while their Mary Poppins may not actually fly, she soars with enough magic to turn a Chicagoland Thanksgiving and Christmas season into summer.
“Mary Poppins” runs through January 5. Performances are Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Special performances are planned for the holidays. Ticket prices range from $40-48, with discounts available for seniors and students. Dinner-theater packages are also available. Parking is free. Tickets are available at the Marriott Theatre Box Office, 847-634-0200 or online.
Barry Reszel is a Libertyville-based writer, at-home dad and executive director of the not-for-profit entertainment company Liberty Town Productions.
