The Broadway musical brings the Disney classic to the stage.
The cast of the national tour of the Broadway musical Mary Poppins.When the musical “Mary Poppins” flies into Hartford’s Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, there will not only be a new Mary Poppins under the umbrella, but a new Bert the chimney sweep.
“I’ve been on the road with the tour since February and as an understudy did perform the role of Bert before, but this will be my official opening as Mary Poppins’ good friend,” said Con O’Shea-Creal about his new starring role after performing in the play’s ensemble and in some smaller character roles.
“We were on vacation from the tour when I got the call to assume the role of Bert. It’s such a great opportunity, and quite an honor to be given the role ... that they trusted me enough and I didn’t have to audition,” he added.
And, Bert will also have a new Mary Poppins to pal around with when Madeline “Maddy” Trumble makes her debut as the loveable nanny along with O’Shea-Creal in Hartford.
“We’ve been rehearsing so much in Los Angeles to build our chemistry. Maddy is great and toured with the show last year as an understudy for the role of Mary Poppins. We work together really well, and I think audiences in Hartford are going to see a lot of new energy brought to the show, which also features two new actors as the Banks children,” said O’Shea-Creal.
The entire original creative team has reunited to bring the “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” tale to audiences around North America. The “Mary Poppins” North American Tour began performances on March 25, 2009 and has played to 2 million theatergoers in 30 cities to date.
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“Mary Poppins,” a co-production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, is based on P.L. Travers’ cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film featuring such memorable songs as “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The stage play also features the Academy Award-winning music and lyrics of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, and the stage production has been created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who has written the book. Also, the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.
“We grew up at home watching a lot of old films, and ‘Mary Poppins’ was definitely one of them. So, I was very familiar with the film and saw the Broadway play in 2008 while in New York City. I knew when I saw it that I wanted to be a part of it someday. It’s rare to get to do show you see,” said O’Shea-Creal.
As the story goes, things are not going well for the Banks family, who live on London’s Cherry Lane. The children, Jane and Michael, are out of control and are in need of a new nanny. When a mysterious young woman appears at their doorstep, the family finds that she’s the answer to their prayers, but in the most peculiar way. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren’t the only ones she has a profound effect upon. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who always advises “anything can happen if you let it.”
While the importance of family is a central theme of “Mary Poppins,” with both parents being nurtured by their children just as their nanny was a nurturing influence on them, O’Shea- Creal said it is also the play’s inherent message that a man and a woman can have a trusting friendship without any sense of expectations that is attractive to him.
“Because of the changes in society today, that is sometimes hard to find ... good friendships that are just that ... .and nothing tainted about it,” said O’Shea-Creal.
Also, surrounding the making of the film, original author P.L. Travers was explicit in her demands that the movie contain no suggestions of a possible romance between Mary Poppins and Bert.
O’Shea-Creal said he enjoys playing Bert because of the important role the character plays in moving the story along.
“Bert comes in and out of the story when called to do so, and it’s fun having that responsibility to get the story out there ... to actually move a set piece as if Bert is turning a page of the storybook,” the Nebraska native said.With four productions currently running on three continents, “Mary Poppins” is one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge from London or New York in recent years. Worldwide to date, the show has grossed over $644 million and has been seen by 9.3 million people.