‘Mary Poppins’ gets practically perfect staging at Drury Lane Theatre

There’s nothing quite so difficult as teaching a child who already knows everything.

So says the magical nanny Mary Poppins after arriving at the Banks family’s Edwardian-era London home, where young Jane and Michael Banks have made a lifelong sport of tormenting their nannies until they flee as if pursued by bears. Per P. L. Travers’ marvelous series of children’s books, the Banks children — both spoiled and neglected by their well-off, hands-off parents — are in for a transformation at the hands of the magical Mary.

Disney adapted P. L. Travers’ series of Mary Poppins books as a movie in 1964, turning them into a cheery musical starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, with music and lyrics by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. That’s the version of “Mary Poppins” which inspired Cameron Macintosh and Disney to create a musical stage adaptation. Where Travers’ Mary Poppins could be foreboding and frightening, Disney/Mackintosh rendered her pure “Nanny and the Professor.” It’s that softer, kinder “Mary Poppins” that opened Thursday night at the Drury Lane Theatre.

Softening Mary’s imperious edges was a savvy move.

Mackintosh smartly kept the movie version’s musical hits “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Chim-Chim Cher-ee,” “A Spoonful of Sugar” among them), but added additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Julian Fellowes’ book gently addresses the troubles caused by Mr. Banks’ refusal to truly engage with either his wife or his family, but there’s never any doubt but that Mary will get him sorted.

The notable exception to the perky proceedings is “Playing the Game,” a number sung by a host of “abused” toys that have swollen to monstrous proportions. But that’s the exception to the gently corrective tone “Mary Poppins” sets.

Director Marcia Milgrom Dodge’s Drury Lane staging sticks closely to Disney’s sensibility. Her cast hits their marks with practically perfect efficiency. Emilie Lynn’s Mary Poppins has a crystalline soprano and chipper demeanor. James T. Lane’s fluid grace and insouciant charm make for a bashfully adorable Bert, the jack-of-all-trades who is Mary’s sidekick. As the Birdwoman, Catherine Smitko brings a cathedral-worthy alto to “Feed the Birds,” a number of soaring reverence. She’s double-cast as the put-upon housekeeper Mrs. Brill, whose deadpan imperiousness is a comic highlight.

Brett Beiner Photography

Mrs. Banks is has long been a sticky wicket: She loves her husband, even when he’s an emotionally withholding sexist prig (which is often). Alexis J. Roston finds the right balance as a woman whose love is never blind and often exasperated. Matthew J. Crowle’s Mr. Banks nicely depicts the evolution of a gent who must chart a new course after being terrorized as a child by the gleefully sadistic nanny Miss Andrew (Holly Stauder).

The kids are all right, too. Opening night, Grier Burke’s Jane Banks (she alternates the role with Nicole Scimeca) finds the sweet spot between headstrong and bratty. Sebastian Merlo’s Michael Banks (Hunter DiMailig at some performances) yanks at the heartstrings like a “This Is Us” season finale. When Michael is crestfallen because his stuffy father won’t fly a kite with him, you rather want to shake Mr. Banks by the lapels; how could anyone ignore a child with such open-hearted yearning?

There are a few missteps. Dodge has Sawyer Smith going so far over the top as a klutzy servant, you fear Smith might commandeer Mary Poppins’ flying rig and sail off into the stars. The villainous Miss Andrew has a similar overreach, with Stauder going so full-throttle Wicked Witch, you half expect her to summon the flying monkeys.

“Mary Poppins” has always been at its best during everybody onstage, bust-out-the-tap solos and kick-lines production numbers. Co-choreographers Dodge and Josh Walden make the most of the breathlessly frantic “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and the sweeping rooftop extravaganza, “Step in Time.” Paul Rubin’s flying sequences are terrific, but Bert has the best of them. “Step in Time” has him flipping across a starry sky and scaling the chimneys (rendered as huge stacks of books in Kevin Depinet’s storyland set) with stunning agility.

Brett Beiner Photography

Those gigantic chimney books are a recurring motif: Books form the landing at the bottom of the Banks’ massive bannister (Mary’s slide up is impressive) and frame the stage alongside a mammoth profusion of cherry blossoms. Gigantic pages serve as screens, which projection designer Kevan Loney turns into starry skies, nursery wallpaper and stolid bank interiors.

“Mary Poppins” provides the jolly holiday of the lyrics. Hopefully, it’ll inspire children to pick up the source material.

Catey Sullivan is a local freelance writer.