Sage Irving as Bert, and Grace O’Bryan-Shade as Mary Poppins.
Everyone’s favorite “Practically Perfect” nanny is flying around the Merced Theatre this weekend, March 1-2, as part of the musical “Mary Poppins Jr.” by the young students of the acclaimed Weaver Performing Arts program.
Weaver Performing Arts has been performing musicals with 4th through 8th grade students since 2003. Last year Weaver’s production of Disney’s “Little Mermaid Jr.” was performed before more than 5,000 audience members.
This year, Mary Poppins Jr. features a cast and crew of 60 students from all three schools in the Weaver Union School District.
In the classic show, Mary Poppins magically arrives at the home of the Banks family in response to the Banks’ childrens advertisement for “The Perfect Nanny.”
With Mary as their guide, Jane and Michael go to the park where they meet the chimney sweep, Bert, and visit their father at the bank where he works. They also watch a woman selling birdseed on the steps of the cathedral, have fun making unusual words out of random letters in Mrs. Corry’s talking shop, and join Bert and other chimney sweeps on the rooftops of London.
Through all of the fun times, Mary Poppins tries to teach the Banks children, along with their parents George and Winifred, the value of family. She wants them to help each other through difficult times and realize that time spent together is most important of all. If the Banks family learns Mary’s lessons, they won’t need her anymore.
This musical brings to life the story and songs from the original Disney movie. It includes the songs “Spoonful of Sugar,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Jolly Holiday,” “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” and “Step in Time.” For anyone that has seen the recent movie, Mary Poppins Returns, this show is an opportunity to see how it all began, when Jane and Michael were children.
The whole family will enjoy the story and songs of Mary Poppins Jr., including those with fond memories of the original movie and those that have never seen it.
School Shows (sold out) will be held Feb. 27 – March 1, at 9:30 a.m.
Public Shows will be held March 1, at 7 p.m.; March 2, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets for the public shows are $10, and sold at the Merced Theatre Box Office and online at: mercedtheatre.org. The box office, located at 301 W. Main St. in downtown Merced, is open Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Call for more info at: 381-0500.