Mary Poppins to open in April

Elizabeth Cybulski, News Editor

Mary Poppins, a Broadway musical, is being performed on April 17-18 at 7p.m and April 19 at 2p.m. Tickets for adults are $7 and students and seniors are $5.
“You should come out and support this musical, because Mary Poppins is a timeless movie that everyone loves,” Mary Cushing, senior, said.
The musical is about Mary Poppins, a nanny, who comes to reunite the Banks family. Mary takes Jane and Michael Banks under her wing and shows them that, “Anything can happen if you let it.” The audience will see penguins and statues dancing and go to places they have only seen in their imagination.
“To see this play being performed on a stage would be just an incredible experience for everybody of all ages, and you get to see a great cast perform. It’s going to be a great show,” Cushing said.
Director Ms. Kelly Wren is also ready for this musical.
“The cast, crew, and orchestra are all doing incredibly well. We have approximately 40 students in cast, 20 in crew, 20 in orchestra, and 5 faculty directors. It’s incredible to have about 80 students who are all passionate about the arts and really come to rehearsals ready to learn from the production staff,” Wren said.
The cast and crew of the musical have been rehearsing and preparing this for a long time, but
many actors have tough times memorizing their lines and even having stage fright when performing in different parts.
“The hardest part I think is memorizing my lines, and getting the British accent down,” Alex Ibarra, senior said.
The cast is also excited to be playing the roles they have been given.
“It feels amazing to have the lead of Mary Poppins, this play has been a big part of my life, since I was a little girl. To be able to fulfill this role this year it’s great and an awesome feeling,” Cushing said.
“I am very excited to be playing Winifred Banks, I feel although it is a very challenging role, it is going to be very exciting,” Morgan Guiffre, junior said.
“I feel great with having this role and I’m excited for playing Michael Banks,” Sami Lambert, sophomore said.
“I have a long list of musicals and plays that I plan on directing at some point in my career so I always start there. With input from the other members of the production staff, we take into consideration my suggested shows and the previous year’s production so that we are providing students with a range of musical theatre skills. This process happened at the exact same time the rights for Mary Poppins had been released. I actually requested the rights when I was under the impression they were still limited to professional companies; I was extremely shocked when 20 minutes later our production was approved,” Wren said.
“This musical means everything to me, it’s my last year so I get to end it off with a bang and I get to fulfill my dream role of Mary Poppins my last year of high school it’s so fantastic,” Cushing said.
“Throughout high school, I’ve never done much to really standout above the crowd, I feel like this part,” Ibarra said.
“This show means a lot to me, it’s great that I can be with my friends and have so much fun while creating a wonderful show,” Guiffre said.
“It’s a great opportunity to go see a Broadway show at a school. The cast is full of such amazing people and we have a great staff working on this play to make sure it gets done and turns out great,” Katherine Hahn-Boisvert said. “You will definitely get a lot of laughs out of this show.”