Arguably the world’s best-known nanny, Mary Poppins, soars into Georgetown this weekend, courtesy of the Possum Point Players.
The company’s performances opened last weekend, with three more shows set for this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Most audience members will be familiar with the famous 1964 film starring Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke. While the stage musical came along some 40 years later, audiences can expect an expansion of the story, not a complete reboot, according to Possum Point Players’ publicity chair, Steve Givens.
“The musical stage version is inspired by that,” he says. “It actually pulls a lot of the same music, a lot of the same moments from the film, so there's going to be a lot of things that audiences will recognize from the film.”
But, the stage version - written in part by Julian Fellowes of “Downton Abbey” fame - has more time to work with, three hours instead of the film’s approximately two hours. Givens says that means there’s more character development and story.
“The musical has expanded the story and has pulled from the original books by P.L. Travers, so there's going to be some new and interesting material included in there that people may not be familiar with,” Givens says.
And while the movie may be familiar to many, Givens adds that one of the biggest draws for audiences is seeing classic roles performed by their friends and neighbors.
“It's different when you're seeing your neighbor or your friend or a relative up on stage performing these things and really putting their heart and soul into it,” he says.
Possum Point Players present “Mary Poppins” this weekend at the Possum Hall Theater in Georgetown.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
