The classic tale of a nanny flying in and showing a family how to love and care will be brought to life by more than 60 children later this month.
“Mary Poppins” will be the annual musical for the Wolf River Homeschoolers Performing Arts program, premiering March 19 at Clintonville High School, 64 W. Green Tree Road, Clintonville. Twenty families provide the cast for this classic tale for all ages.
“This is a very classic and beautiful story of a family,” said Julia Herro, the show’s director. “We need a musical where we can have a lot of our talented students showcased. A lot of musicals will have one or two main leads and one or two supporting characters, and then there’s, like, no other real cast. It’s expensive to put on a musical, and you don’t want a ton of people, usually. We have the opposite problem where we have a ton of people, and we want to get them on stage.”
This show provides a lot of different parts for the children, most of whom are in Shawano County. From the titular character to the Banks family to the chimney sweeps and more, there’s a lot to sort out. Herro noted that she has seven children, so multitasking is not a problem for her, but with a group of children nine times the size of her family, she admitted wrangling the entire cast is not something she can do alone.
The show follows the Banks family, especially the children, Jane and Michael, as they have sent previous nannies packing by being unpleasant little urchins. That changes when Mary Poppins flies in. She teaches not only the children but also the parents and others around them about the importance of valuing each other and having faith in themselves.
The homeschoolers are using the Broadway version of “Mary Poppins,” which interweaves the original books by P.L. Travers with elements from the Disney film in a way that sets it apart from the classic film that has enchanted generations of children. Herro said she likes how the musical honors both versions but still makes it something different that stands alone.
“Our society exists because you have a mother and a father and children,” Herro said. “It’s the same story over and over again. You want love. You want to be loved. You want your parents’ acceptance. You want to grow. Then, we also see and hear that grown-ups have problems, too. It’s not just the kids that have problems; it’s the grown-ups, too.”
People “resonate” to the show, in Herro’s view, because it reflects on how adults try to make their way in the world and children get older and realize what it means to be growing up.
“No one gives you a manual when you have kids,” she said. “They just give you the kids and say, ‘Go home.’ We always want to do it the right way and don’t want to necessarily repeat the problems of the past. Then we repeat the problems of the past and say, ‘Why is this happening again?’”
The show follows the Travers books more closely, with Herro noting that Walt Disney changed things drastically for the film. For example, there is a villain in the show — Miss Andrew, the nanny who takes over after Mary flies away at the end of the first act and terrorizes the children.
Herro noted that the Disney film showed Mary as a sweet and wonderful nanny, with a little firmness but a lot of kindness. The books had more firmness than sweetness, and that’s what audiences will see in the homeschoolers’ musical.
“She’s very dictatorial and not very nice at all,” Herro said. “We have this dichotomy between the movie version and the stage version.”
George Banks, the patriarch, goes through the most change in the musical, Herro noted. He believes everyone should do whatever he says whenever he says it. Then he learns that his children need him to be more than just the strong backbone of the family — someone who also exhibits love.
Shows like “Mary Poppins” help to bring children into the world of theater, with everyone from ages 4-18 bringing the show to life.
“The beautiful thing about having such a wide age range is that you allow the younger kids to be involved,” Herro said. “Usually, they don’t get to be involved until way later and they learn how to be on a set, how to care for a set, how all of this kind of comes together.”
Involved in theater in college, Herro said that the musicals also give the families a chance to come together and form an even bigger family.
“We’re working together very closely to develop something out of nothing, and then you form these amazing friendships, some of which have lasted my entire life,” Herro said. “(The homeschoolers) get to form these very close relationships with their friends as they’re growing up, and they get to see and they get to learn these timeless tales. We’ve done ‘The Little Mermaid,’ ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and now we’re doing ‘Mary Poppins.’”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
WHAT: “Mary Poppins,” performed by the Wolf River Homeschoolers Performing Arts
WHEN: 7 p.m. March 19-20, 6 p.m. March 21 and 2 p.m. March 22
WHERE: Clintonville High School, 64 W. Green Tree Road, Clintonville
ADMISSION: Free, although donations will be accepted to offset production costs.
Mary Poppins, played by Annika Jannusch, left, is about to have a showdown with the replacement nanny, Miss Andrew, played by Bridget Sterns, in a scene from the second act of “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
Mary Poppins, played by Annika Jannusch, smiles as she makes it clear that she doesn’t explain herself to anyone in a scene from “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
Bert, played by Tristan Herro, and Mary Poppins, played by Annika Jannusch, take the lead in singing “Step in Time” during the second act of “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
George Banks, played by Jameson Byars, is grateful that Mary Poppins, played by Annika Jannusch, has returned to care for the children in a scene from “Mary Poppins.”
(Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
George Banks, played by Jameson Byars, embraces wife Winifred, played by Mina Herro, as they realize Mary Poppins has returned in the second act of the show. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
George Banks, played by Jameson Byars, right, talks with Bert, played by Tristan Herro, in a scene from “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
Bert, played by Tristan Herro, left, shakes hands with George Banks, played by Jameson Byars, in a scene from “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
George Banks, played by Jameson Byars, gets a hug from his children, Michael, played by Theo Schwahn, and Jane, played by Abby Wattabanjongkul, before they go to bed in a second-act scene of “Mary Poppins.” The Wolf River Homeschoolers are performing this show for free later this month. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
Michael Banks, played by Theo Schwahn, talks about family issues with his mother, Winifred, played by Mina Herro, in a scene from “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
Mary Poppins, played by Annika Jannusch, center, joins Michael, played by Theo Schwahn, and Jane, played by Abby Wattabanjongkul, in a rendition of “Anything Can Happen” in the second act of “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
The Birdwoman, played by Emma Bonnin, is out and about to feed the birds in the second act of “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
Mary Poppins, played by Annika Jannusch, left, is about to give Miss Andrew, played by Bridget Sterns, a taste of her own medicine when she returns to the Banks’ residence in the second act of “Mary Poppins.” (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
