Folks flock to 'Mary Poppins' in the forest

Opening weekend of Mary Poppins was very well received by enthusiastic audiences. Here are excerpts from Michael Moore's review in the Kitsap Sun (May 25, 2015):

“… the Mountaineers Players and director Craig Schieber have constructed a fine and representative "Poppins" out there in the trees … an admirable and often highly successful take on a very complex and difficult show to pull off, even in the best of conditions. Schieber, musical director Amy Beth Nolte and – especially – choreographer Guy Caridi and costumer Barbara Klingberg have made the setting and the story work together … finding simple and inventive ways to represent the magic in the familiar tale of a nanny who rescues a dysfunctional English family … a very good, well-cast and well-rendered show, with lots of nice little touches, pretty constant color and movement and a few visual surprises. And you'll hear a strong collection of voices, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it little bit of offstage choral backing during "Feed the Birds" that is as lovely as anything I've heard in my years of KFT campouts.”

“Meagan Castillo makes a fine and plucky Mary Poppins, in fine voice and right at home playing the character's slightly more flinty stage persona. She's in competition with Jenny Dreessen (as Mrs. Banks) and Dawn Brazel (doubling as both the Bird Woman and Mrs. Andrew, the "Holy Terror") for the show's best voice. Tod Harrick, suitably uptight and conflicted as Mr. Banks, and the two Banks children – Lydia Salo as Jane and Joseph Martinez as Michael – are charmingly precocious. ... As affable Bert, the sooty jack-of-all-trades who sort of shepherds the show along, KFT first-timer Merrill Matheson is capable in both voice and on hoof.”

“. . . [the] production numbers – particularly the dance-filled "Step in Time" – are visual treats. Schieber and Klingberg often find appealing and ingenious ways to turn people into props: Kites, toys, even the merchandise in Mrs. Corry's "Talking Shop" all become characters, adding measurably to the show's visual appeal.”

Michael Moore’s review also includes an advisory for families with very young children:

“. . . the show – which draws more heavily from P.L. Travers' original stories than from the 1964 Disney movie that gave us "Spoonful of Sugar," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite" – works against itself. The songs, and the production numbers built around them, are wonderful. But the long periods spent dealing with the Banks family's domestic problems are anything but kid friendly. The very thing that makes the stage musical superior to the movie is the thing that's completely lost on the younger play-goers. So there's lots of restlessness . . .”

There are three more weekends to see this magical show – come early to picnic and enjoy the natural surroundings. Tickets here.