Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

MOSES LAKE — It won’t be the “Mary Poppins” everybody knows. But the Basin Community Theatre production opening Thursday promises to be at least supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. And if everything goes right; it might even be practically perfect.  

“If people think they're going to get what they see from the ‘Mary Poppins’ film, they're not going to get it,” said the show’s producer Marion Wyman. “For one thing, there's no animation in it. There's different musical numbers that they will have never heard before unless they've gone to the Broadway production. They're going to recognize the familiar ones: ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite,’ ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee,’ ‘A Spoonful of Sugar.’ But there's many, many more that they're not going to recognize.” 

The stage musical of “Mary Poppins” adheres much more closely to the children’s novels by P.L. Travers than the 1964 Walt Disney film did, Wyman said. The story still features the magical nanny, played by Claire Crump, who arrives flying on an umbrella and takes her young charges, Jane (Mia Bergeson) and Michael (Will Zuver) Banks, on magical adventures, but there’s much more focus on the children’s parents: The strict, almost tyrannical workaholic George Banks (Tom Christensen) and his wife, former actress Winifred (Tishra Beeson), who can’t seem to make him happy no matter what she does. The children have responded to this tension with increasing brattiness, driving off several nannies before Mary Poppins takes them in hand. The Banks family and its healing are much more central to the play than in Disney’s film. 

“The whole story of Mary Poppins is how she takes this father who’s so into his job and being a success that his family comes second,” Wyman said. “It’s about him realizing what’s important. And that’s what Mary Poppins does. She comes in and she fixes it.” 

There’s still no shortage of magic, though. On a trip with Mary and her Cockney artist friend, Bert (Brett DeGooyer), the children stop to rest on the pedestal of a statue (Porter Hansen), which comes to life and has a chat with them. When the children make a shambles of the kitchen, shelves magically right themselves and spilled utensils rearrange themselves on their hooks as Mary administers a spoonful of sugar. And of course, Mary herself flies on and off the stage as well as the family’s lives. 

“It’s a challenging production,” Wyman said. “There’s a lot of magic that has to happen, and there’s a lot of moving parts to it.” 

The apparatus that sends Crump airborne requires four men, Wyman said: two to lift and lower her and two more to move her along the stage. The crew was still working the bugs out of that setup at Monday’s dress rehearsal. A professional had to be brought in from St. Louis to set up the equipment and train the crew, she said. 

Crump’s costumes also had to be altered for the flying apparatus, said Tiffany Quilter, who was making adjustments to costumes during Monday’s rehearsal. 

“Since Claire’s flying, I had to adjust the back of all her costumes to fit the (harness),” Quilter said.  

For the most part, the cast found its own Edwardian-era clothing and Quilter adjusted it as necessary, she said.  

“I just kept in my mind that it has to be the right time period and made adjustments to fit that,” she said. “That was a fun little challenge.” 

Despite its family-friendly story, BCT would prefer that children under 6 years old stay home, Wyman said, because it’s a long production and small children will find it difficult to sit still that long.  

Getting a community theater troupe organized for song-and-dance numbers took some work on director and choreographer Toby Black’s part, Wyman said.  

“‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ is a fun, colorful scene that we hope the audience really enjoys, because the cast worked so hard on every dance scene,” she said. “Toby has taken ordinary people who have never had dance and made them into dancers for this show. There’s been a lot of practice and a lot of work that has gone into it.” 

All of the work pays off when the performance starts, Wyman said, both for the cast and for the audience. 

“The main reason we do these is we want to bring we want to bring the arts to our community,” she said. “We want to have a caliber of show that they don't have to drive to Spokane or Seattle to see. That's really the bar that we set, is a production that you're not (ordinarily) going to see in a small community theater.” 

‘Mary Poppins’ 

April 10-12 & 17-18: 7:10 p.m.
April 12&19: 1:10 p.m. 

Moses Lake High School Theater 

803 E. Sharon Ave. 

Tickets $22 at https://bit.ly/BCTMaryPoppinstix

$25 at the door 

basincommunitytheatre.com 

The Troupe: 

Director/Choreographer: Toby Black                     

Producer: Marion Wyman  

Co-Producer: Shaila Hardy                

Stage Manager: Tom Silva                                        

Technical Director: Katie Miller 

Mary Poppins: Claire Crump            

Bert: Brett DeGooyer  

George Banks: Tom Christensen      

Winifred Banks: Tishra Beeson  

Jane Banks: Mia Bergeson                

Michael Banks: Will Zuver 

Katie Nanna: Abby Christensen        

Mrs. Lark: Crystal Zurligen 

Mrs. Corry: Robyn Valdez                  

Fannie: Julia Heaps 

Annie: Isabel Sica                              

Admiral Bloom: Kelly Clear 

Mrs. Brill: Christi Hansen                  

Robertson Ay: LJ Beavers 

Neleus:  Porter Hansen                      

Bird Woman:  JoAnna Miller 

Miss Andrews: Sheryl Cassella          

Miss Smythe: Alice Dale 

Doll: Hannah Clear                             

Park Keeper: Evan Hansen 

Valentine: Abby Christensen            

Banker: Kelly Clear 

Policeman: Evan Hansen                  

Queen: Tom Silva 

Van Hussler: Ted Mack                      

Northbrook: Paige Perkins 

Ensemble: Chanel DeGooyer, Sterling Hardy, Danielle Merkley, Jaeley McHargue, Katie Hansen, Mallorie Johnson, Leila Sloane, Kaylene Robinson, Paula Gonzales, Kristen Butterfield, Ted Mack, Toby Black, Tom Silva, Shanna Stakkeland. 

    Mary Poppins (Claire Crump, right) flies into the Banks household in Basin Community Theatre’s production of “Mary Poppins,” which opens Thursday. Soon to meet her, from left, are houseboy Robertson Ay (LJ Beavers), cook Mrs. Brill (Christi Hansen), Michael Banks (Will Zuver), Jane Banks (Mia Bergeson), George Banks (Tom Christensen) and Winifred Banks (Tishra Beeson).
  

    A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in the Banks kitchen in Basin Community Theatre’s production of “Mary Poppins.” From left: Mrs. Brill (Christi Hansen), Michael Banks (Will Zuver), Jane Banks (Mia Bergeson), Marry Poppins (Claire Crump) and Robertson Ay (LJ Beavers).
  

    Bert’s (Brett DeGooyer, right) heart beats like a big brass band at the prospect of a jolly holiday with Mary Poppins (Claire Crump).
  

    A whole park’s worth of Londoners breaks out in song and dance in Basin Community Theatre’s production of “Mary Poppins,” which opens tonight.
  

    Neleus (Porter Hansen), a statue in the park, steps off his plinth to meet Jane (Mia Bergeson) and Michael (Will Zubver) Banks in the Basin Community Theatre production of “Mary Poppins.”