Practically Perfect in Every Way

Last night we saw Mary Poppins downtown. It is nice to be in a big city that gets hit on all the major Broadway tours regularly. The Performing Arts Complex is so cool! Apparently it's the second-largest arts complex in the country, second only to the Lincoln Center in New York.

Before the show, our friends took us to this trendy Mexican restaurant with $1 tacos on Tuesdays. So dinner was pretty cheap, which was nice. We got $25 dollars off our seats from a deal on the Denver Performing Arts e-mails I have been getting since Wicked. So we splurged and got better seats than we would otherwise have been willing to purchase and it was great! We were about 2/3 of the way back on the lowest level very near the center.

Mary had a good voice, but Chrissy thought they should have turned up her mic a little. Bert pretty much stole the show, with a great voice and a fantastic character. I also like Mrs. Banks quite a bit. There were many magical things including the hat-rack, plant, etc. being pulled out of a carpet bag, flying Mary Poppins, and an upside-down tap-dance on the roof during Chim-Chimeree. Overall I thought the stage adaptation was very good, though there were a few things I would have done differently. Most notably, the dancing penguins in "It's a Jolly Holiday with Mary" have been replaced with dancing marble nude statues, complete with marble-colored unitards, drawn-on muscles and attached fig leaves. It was pretty weird...I much prefer the penguins.

They definitely tried to infuse a message into the songs that in the movie were just for fun...or maybe I'm just more mature now. Chim-chimeree was all about enduring hard times and being happy in spite of your troubles. Feed the birds was a powerful moment in the play with a strong message of giving and seeing beyond outward appearances. Also, I really got into the character of Mr. Banks since I am starting a family and will have to learn to balance career pressures with family. I need to remember to take time to "go fly a kite" with my kids. I think the fact that I went to see a show two nights before three consecutive tests is a good start. Now back to studying!