Mary Poppins - Prince Edward Theatre

Cam Mackintosh was also walking around the place mask-less...not setting a great example.  

I hope it closes down again if CM is going to behave like that.

Same Dr Tom. I’m intending on checking frequently in the hope. I’ll post on here if I notice its addition.

First things first- CamMack hanging about in the auditorium pre-show with no mask on was hugely infuriating but hugely expected. Complaining about the government and then not following theatre safety measures?... dick move.

So I enjoyed the show, but for me there is something missing in this production, and I think it ultimately comes down to whats happening in all CamMack productions, and that's the fact that it's a touring show in a big West End house. Not saying its not a good production, but when you compare it to the original, it just felt a little...cheap? On top of that there's still some massively dodgy performances in this show. Petula Clark has somehow gotten worse than she was before, and I honestly didn't know that could happen but here we are. I do not understand how people can watch her and think she's good, it absolutely baffles me.
Liz Robertson is an improvement on the wildly miscast Claire Moore, but still not terrifying enough as Miss Andrew (I unfavourably compare everyone to Rosie Ashe but she truly was brilliant.)

That said, I had a really lovely evening. Zizi and Charlie are still giving brilliant performances (Zizi just gets better and more comfortable each time I see her, and Charlie really was letting it rip during the big dance numbers. Clare Machin virtually steals the show as Mrs Brill, and Amy Griffiths is a real delight as Mrs Banks.

Four stars from me, but I think the production itself does stop it from being able to be 5 stars for me...

Whilst being critical of the government, it seems that CM has taken to their habit of brazenly lying, even when he knows that we know. Sure before POTO reopened there was a sliver of hope that he might have just tarted up the set but remained the same, but we already know that this is the third generation tour version & set. We’ve seen it. Is anyone rich enough to launch a trade descriptions suit?

We knew he wasn't going to upgrade the show - it's not what he does. We were getting the tour set. I just can't help but feel a little uncomfortable at paying even more for a show in 2021 than I did in 2007 and the production is...not as good or as extravagant.

100%! Not sure why people can't see this! OK, it's not the original version, but it's a top notch production.

And it's really not a Cam Mac specific thing so no idea why people seem to think that. Has a single long running production ever returned a decade+ later with the same or more extravagance? I can't think of an example. I mean am sure there might be some but it's vanishingly rare! Cats at Palladium was hardly the New London version. Joseph now, nowhere near the decadence of 1991. And the gulf between every Sunset production since the Adelphi with the epic original is stark.

Dislike CM for his actions pertaining to the pandemic, fair enough. But not for what he puts on stage. There is more lavish spectacle at the Prince Edward than most other West End theatres right now. The prices are West End standard so that is also a wider conversation, not a CM specific thing. And in my experience, DMT dynamic price downwards better than most if you hold your nerve!

Are they though? I've not seen that in any of the advertising, though confess I have not been looking! Certainly in the pre covid brochure/programme and on the tours, the blurb written was always very honest about the production's history and the different versions. 

If they have though, it's advertising spiel, aimed at the masses. Again not a CM thing. All marketing departments for all producers will chuck anything on if they think they'll make more money! And I know people posting here don't need the hyperbole to make them spend money - but a vast chunk of a Disney musical's potential audience might!

Could the “original” mean the original Mary Poppins story (as per the movie/musical) as opposed to the recent Mary Poppins sequel?

I don’t think it refers to the original stage production in the way Phantom had a “brilliant original” production.

It's the brilliant 'Original'. Meaning Mary arrives via bungee rope rather than umbrella, and it will now only be Califragilisticexpialidocious.

They clearly petitioned SOLT that it was sufficiently different for Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear to win the Best Choreography award a second time!

On the set - the current one is actually Bob Crowley's initial idea for the show. He always wanted to have something which was more abstract like a picture book opening up - based on the Mary Shepard illustrations. However CML and Disney wanted something more literal and spectacular for the premiere production (as they misguidedly expected it to run for at least a decade). So, for once, it was actually the original designer who wanted to reimagine the production for the tour (and indeed all subsequent productions) and return to his original idea rather than the producer wanting to cut corners (though I'm sure CamMac was more than happy to save the pennies).