Today I saw
Mary Poppins on Broadway and it was simply amazing! If you have young children--or simply have fond memories of Mary Poppins from when you were a child--you must see this stunning Disney musical.
The musical features all the beloved songs from the movie ("A Spoonful of Sugar," "Jolly Holliday," "Chim Chim Cher-ee," a tear-inducing rendition of "Feed the Birds," etc.) and some new numbers that are really outstanding. Mrs. Banks has a beautiful number that is so touching ("Being Mrs. Banks") And I just loved one of the new finale songs called "Anything Can Happen." A line from the song goes:
If you reach for the heavens, you get the stars thrown in. Simply beautiful.
Some of the songs missing from the musical are songs that I didn't really care for in the first place: "Sister Suffragette," "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank," etc. I did miss "I Love to Laugh," though, but it was refreshing to see a new spin on Mary Poppins rather than simply watching the movie word for word on the stage.
The cast was amazing--especially Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins, Gavin Lee as Bert, and Megan Osterhaus as Mrs. Banks. Ashley and Megan have gorgeous voices and portrayed their characters perfectly, and I can't rave enough about Gavin Lee. His Bert was hilarious and full of energy--a respectful nod to Dick Van Dyke's portrayal of the character in the movie, but also a character all of his own. His dancing even reminded me of Gene Kelly's (a favorite of mine.)
The set was as beautiful as all Disney musical sets are, and the special effects had young and old alike gasping with pleasure. Aside from Mary Poppins' flying, Bert dances on the ceiling and marble statues come to life. And there's just so much, much more.
The only part of the show that had me saying "huh" was during a song called "Temper, Temper (Playing the Game)" when the children's toys grow to adult size and start singing and dancing around. I thought is was a bit scary and noticed children in the audience cringing a bit too. You might want to give small children fair warning that this song is in the first act.
Mary Poppins is playing at the New Amsterdam Theater (2 hr 40 min run time) and
tickets range from $70 to $130 . For $100 a ticket, my cousin and I had wonderful seats in the front right balcony. I found them to be expensive, like most tickets are, but totally worth it. Mary Poppins actually flew right up in front of us during the finale so we were in perfect position to enjoy that!)
I hope you'll have a jolly holiday with Mary!
You know when you think something is a good idea but all it does is makes a big ole mess of things? Well, that's how I'd describe Crayola's TaDoodles First Marks for toddlers 18m+
. These little egg-shaped animal markers are adorable and they seem like such an ingenious product--no marker caps to lose or have your little one choke on. Plus, they never dry out. But what seems to be a positive turns out to be a big negative.
Target has a free sample of Jif To-Go Peanut Butter! 
