When she was a kindergartener, P. L. Travers picked a giant sunflower from a neighbor’s garden thinking the great golden face was the face of God. She would go on later in life to delight the world in a series of books with a fanciful figure named “Mary Poppins.”
The Bushnell Center for the Arts in Hartford will open its roof and rafters to welcome the Disney and Cameron Mackintosh national tour of “Mary Poppins” from Friday, September 14 to Sunday, September 23 and you’re invited to hold on to her umbrella for a bucket of fun.
To get in the proper spirit, the Bushnell is offering a free family Block Party on Saturday, September 8 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with opportunities to make and fly a kite, hear the great show tunes, learn a show dance, see a chalk muralist Tracy Lee Stum create a 3D vision of the characters, attend a 1 p.m. Sing-Along version of the film and much more.
As nannies go. Mary Poppins is one of the magical best. Hailing from England, she unexpectedly arrives at number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane when the Banks family is in desperate need of her services. A strong wind delivers her, carpetbag in hand, to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Banks and their children Jane and Michael. Flying in with an umbrella is only one of her fanciful feats.
Jane and Michael Banks are thoroughly terrible and have chased their current nanny right out the door. Mere minutes after the children pen their advertisement for a new one, sung delightfully as “The Perfect Nanny,” who should arrive but Mary Poppins.
Here is a woman who can make statues come to life, whose best friend is a chimney sweep named Bert, who can befriend unusual people like a Bird Woman and a lady who runs a magical sweet shop and who can encourage toys to dance.
While trying to teach the children life lessons, Mary P. inadvertently puts their father’s job at the bank in jeopardy. But, never fear, all will come out right in the end.
For tickets ($20-75), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org. Performances are Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with matinees Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Travel with Jane and Michael as they learn that “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in the most delightful way,”
when a most amazing Mary Poppins has the spoon and the magic firmly in hand.
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