The real magic of Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins IS magic, but as the play goes out to youth theater groups everywhere, Mary Poppins Jr. offers a different kind of magic that sweeps you up... and up... and away.

It's the magic of performance, no matter the play, by groups of young people all over the country.

I am most fortunate because I have six of my grandchildren in about 25-plus Broadway-originating stage plays over the years, with more plays to come.

And as rich as that is for me, the magic I'm talking about isn't that my grandchildren 'tread the boards' which I love, but that these performances by all the casts everywhere give so much richness and experience to the young actors, and how that all happens. There's unseen magic in starting fresh on day 1 and ending with show stopping performances that dazzle the mind, encore after encore.

Now, thanks to two young cinematographers and their excellent documentary on the making of Mary Poppins Jr., I know what goes on behind the scenes. I had no idea and was blown away.

In Mary Poppins Jr. there are 62 young cast and crew--from 3rd grade to high school--together for a musical so joyfully filled with song and dance complexities, dialog to learn, technical needs to be resolved and 'blocking' positions on stage when and where. And that doesn't include props, costumes and quick changes to plan and position.

The Wellesley Theatre Project... (a nonprofit) Performance Art Theatre in Wellesley, MA offers weekly classes and performance opportunities year round for students Pre-K-12th grade plus summer camps where Mary Poppins Jr. came to life.

This documentary, Jolly Holiday,  was created by WTP students, freshman Louis and his 7th grade brother Nicholas Chiasson and gives you an inside look at one of WPT's largest production camps. In the Summer of 2019, WTP held a 3 week Summer Production camp to produce Disney's and Cameron Mackintosh's "Mary Poppins Jr." A cast of 62, a team of interns and the WTP staff brought this story to life! This is your chance to experience that from the inside!

Note: The documentary is 40 minutes long and if you are curious and more, it fascinated me and is very well done. You can feel the excitement grow as the whole play comes together and in the moments before the curtain goes up on opening night. I loved the table read by the whole cast. And if you are not blown away by Chim Chim Cher-ee I'd be surprised. OK, I admit, three of my grandchildren were in this play so my heart was involved as well as my intellect.

Go here for a 3-minute read on another production and the value of having a Wellesley Theatre Project and other really good theater organizations around the country for young people. The Arts are never, ever a waste of time or energy for the benefits gained by those involved and the audiences they captivate.