20 September, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I finally went to see Mary Poppins! It was a fantastic show. I very rarely go to musicals — unless I know the songs and like them, I just find musicals to be excruciating. But seeing such an elaborate spectacle on the stage, with special effects and so much glitz, was a real treat to behold. At the end, Mary Poppins — her trademark black umbrella open — flies over the audience. I may be a dork for admitting this, but I loved that. Maybe I should give musicals more of a chance. I love going to the theatre and now that I have a bit of money, I plan to go regularly. There’ll be no harm in seeing a few musicals in between the dramas about death and depression I normally prefer.
What I like about Mary Poppins the character is that she’s all sweetness and light on the outside, but deep down inside you know she’s a bitch. This subtext is blindingly obvious. In the musical at least, there’s actually something slightly sinister about Mary Poppins. I quite liked the musical number (added just for the play) in which Mary gets pissed at the kids, leaves the nursery and then their toys come to life and terrorize them (including tying them up). Because of this scene, children under 3 are not allowed to see the show.
Mary, I like your style.
Unfortunately, I do have a few complaints. The musical is based on the original books and the Disney film. Though it’s been many years since I’ve seen the film, I remember it being a bit progressive in terms of gender politics. In the film, Mrs. Banks was a suffragist and there was a whole musical number about the women’s movement. This has been completely removed from the musical and Mrs. Banks is a complete doormat. The mother’s role has become very traditional to a nauseating degree. The father is conveyed in a very sexist way too, but he becomes humanized during the play. The mother never does. As the play progressed, this started to really irritate me. It almost seems as if the person who wrote the play had some sort of agenda. This didn’t ruin the show, but it’s an unfortunate sub-plot.
I didn’t see Mary Poppins sooner because the tickets are quite expensive (in my view) — the half-price student ticket was £25/$50 — but I got a fabulous seat:
Since the play is closing in January, there isn’t much time left to see it. It’s going on a UK and international tour, but only in London do you get to walk by a string of S&M shops on the way to the theatre. Don’t miss it!
Links:
Website of the actor who plays Bert!
Anglofille said @ 9:20 pm | arts & leisure |
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Mary Poppins, a bitch ? You’re kidding ?
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I loved the series of books as a kid, and they had a definite dark side (and also a few racist stereotypes commensurate with the time period when they were written). I hated the Disnified movie because they glossed that over.
Mary Poppins had a malevolent little corner of her heart. She often employed “scared straight” tactics - and part of her liked it.
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Aldor: Yes, she is! [And so am I.]
Jen: I don’t think I ever read the books, but it’s interesting they show her as having a dark side. It’s definitely there in the play. Have you seen the play? I’d be interested to read some feminist criticism on Mary Poppins. She’s such a contradictory character in terms of femininity. I’ll look at the library and see what I can find.
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You must go see Avenue Q!
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Virago Says:
September 22nd, 2007 at 10:52 pmYou can apply feminist critique to anything folks. So eighties and so over in Europe (American feminism that is). Get with celebrating the differences and not the power equality trip. It’s the way forward.
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Uh, okay, thanks. I didn’t realize American feminism was “so over.” From my experience, there are many European countries that could do with a lot more “American” feminism.
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Virago Says:
September 22nd, 2007 at 11:25 pmUh, well, you’re American. Blinkers off and start with modern French feminism. (origin Foucault et al). Yes, I generalised, I meant Western European feminism. Moved on a bit from the power based ‘lets beat them at their own game’ US stuff of the eighties.
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Why do you presume I haven’t studied French “feminism”? Do you really think someone doing a PhD in English hasn’t studied all sorts of theory? And what makes you think my feminism is not carefully considered? Many European academics may find it threatening and want to distance themselves from the kind of feminism that is actually connected to reality and real women’s lives, but that’s their problem.
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i find the idea of “celebrating differences” is mostly just an excuse to abandon the struggle for actual equality and prop up the status quo under the guise of “choice”.
just my 2 p.
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i agree with that. how often do we hear of porn stars or strippers passing themselves off as feminist role models because they “chose” their career path. this attitude is so handy. and who does it serve? not women.
But I could never see the point of tuna and sweet corn...
