She sings, she dances. She destroys evil nannies with a single spoon. And even overturns an entirely dysfunctional family, showing them all the error of their ways.
She is Mary Poppins, of course, the magical flying nanny who gives her name to Brentwood College’s annual musical, onstage this week at the school’s Killy Theatre. Played with plenty of verve by Holly Collis Handford, she’s both fun and strange as she takes two children, Michael and Jane Banks on a magical mystery tour towards a normal childhood.
This much loved musical serves up lots of great songs, like ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’, ‘Practically Perfect’, ‘Jolly Holiday’, ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’, ‘Step in Time’, ‘Anything Can Happen’, and, of course, ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’. Many of them are presented with lively dancing, too, which just adds to the family friendly atmosphere of this presentation.
Along with Collis Handford, you’ll see Andrew Will as Bert, Hannah Strasdin as Jane, Emma Mandziuk as Micheal, Katherine Buckley as Winnifred Banks and either Kyle van Wilternburg or Liam Stevens a George Banks. Joining them in the 50-strong cast are a big ensemble, who perform as bank clerks, chimney sweeps, park visitors, and more.
The show opens March 1 and continues until Saturday. Go to http://theatre.brentwood.bc.ca to book your seats.