The One With The Return of Mary Poppins

Yesterday, we saw an amazing movie....the Return of Mary Poppins. Now, I know what you're thinking. It was Disney and of course it was going to be amazing.

However, I am one of those people who is always wary of the sequel 50 years after the fact. After all, Disney's Return to Oz was, well, a dud....so I didn't know what to expect.

But, I was not disappointed. It remained true to the original story, while updating it by moving onto a new generation, with Michael and Jane grown up. The plot was realistic and made it engaging and the acting was superb. Emily Blunt did a great job playing Mary Poppins and the connections they made to the original movie was clever. 

I loved how they changed they focused on the males being lamp lighters in this one, honoring that idea that chimney sweeps were for the original. The bike riding and the dancing of the lighters was brilliant.

Even better was the homage paid to old-time Disney as both Angela Lansbury and Dick Van Dyke made guest appearances.

Definitely a four star classic.

The One With Mary Poppins Junior

This past weekend, I helped out with the 21^st annual play at Kennedy. This year, we were piloting Mary Poppins Jr. What a blast!

Now truth be told, it is a fast moving play. Epically fast. So, helping to run stage crew kept us quite busy. But the crew was great. Even though it was a small crew – fortunately some of the 9^th graders came back to help – we ran it smoothly. Phew!  But, it was quite an event.

The play itself was fun. It is a version of the Broadway play, with more of the “Saving Mr. Banks” feel to it. The sets were great. The acting and singing was phenomenal. And the dancing was fabulous.

And, I made several memories. First, Bri and Kiff helped out on a play and worked several major parts of it, which was fun. Second, we were able to move in and out on more scenes then we ever have before. Finally, the students in the production gave me a fantastic Mary Poppins tie as a gift and a memory of this year….something I will always treasure.

All and all and fantastic play!