So how did Gavin Lee spend his first few days in Chicago?
Literally hanging around.
Gavin Lee as ‘Bert’ and the original Broadway company of “Mary Poppins” at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Copyright 2006 Disney/CML.Photo by Joan Marcus
Why For? Well … “When Cameron Mackintosh and Disney decided
to send ‘Mary Poppins’ out on the road, they wanted to preserve what made the
West End & Broadway versions of this show so special,” Lee explained. ”Which
meant Mary’s flight and my walk-around.”
So for the National Tour of this Tony Award-winning musical,
Disney Theatrical had this false proscenium built that houses all of the super-secret
equipment which sends Ms. Poppins soaring and lifts Bert over the rooftops. The only problem is – when the stage crew first
set this equipment up inside of the Cadillac Palace Theatre – it didn’t work.
Not at first, anyway.
“At our very first tech rehearsal, I only made it halfway
around,” Gavin laughed. “I had to hang there upside down for a while while the
guys figured out what had gone wrong.”
The original Broadway company of “Mary Poppins” at the New Amsterdam Theatre Copyright 2006 Disney/CML. Photo by Joan Marcus
But did this veteran performer fuss & fret as he stood upside
down on the proscenium? Nope. Mr. Lee knew that the show’s crack stage crew
would eventually solve the problem.
Having spent the past four years playing P.L. Travers’ cheery chimney
sweep, Gavin realizes that he’s in good hands when it comes to the “Mary Poppins”
production team.
“I originated the role of Bert. So I’ve been working with
the folks from Disney Theatrical ever since ‘Mary Poppins’ first tried out in
Bristol back in September of 2004,” he explained. “And these folks never ever stint. They’re always looking for new ways to plus
& improve this show.”
Case in point: “Mary
Poppins” “Jolly Holiday” number. In the 1964 film, this Richard M. & Robert
B. Sherman song was one of the real highlights of that memorable sequence where
Mary, Bert and the Banks children jump into a chalk pavement picture. But since
replicating that exact moment from the “Poppins” motion picture
would have been
next to impossible onstage, this musical’s production team opted to go another
way. Which was to borrow a story idea from Travers’ 1943 book, “Mary Poppins Opens the Door.” When this Practically Perfect nanny’s magic temporarily
brought a statue in the park to life.
The original Broadway company of “Mary Poppins” at the New Amsterdam Theatre Copyright 2006 Disney/CML. Photo by Joan Marcus
Of course, when it came to the stage version of “Mary
Poppins,” bringing just a single statue to life wouldn’t do. Which is why this musical’s
production team had Mary enchant an entire park full of statuary. Which then
allows Bert to do a soft shoe number with a pair of faux-granite fauns as well
as sing some silly rock-related lyrics (ex: “To see a statue dance like that,
you can’t believe your eyes. You fear you’ve lost your marbles, though ‘The
Thinker’ thinks you’re wise.”)
“What I love about ‘Jolly Holiday’ is that – from Bristol to
the West End to Broadway to the U.K. Tour to now the National Tour – the
‘Poppins’ production team kept looking for ways to plus this particular number,“
Lee continued. “They created new set pieces, changed the choreography,
sharpening the focus of this whole number. Which is why I think the version
that we’re doing here in Chicago – with its lightning-quick costume changes and
all of the people in the park who suddenly find themselves sucked into this Technicolor
Disney fantasy – may be the very best ‘Jolly Holiday’ of them all.”
As you talk with Gavin, you really get a sense of how proud
he is to be associated with the stage version of “Mary Poppins.” More
importantly, how he’s just itching to get out on the road with the National
Tour and start entertaining theatergoers all over the U.S. Which — FYI — officially got underway this past Wednesday with its first public performance at the Cadillac Palace Theatre.
Ashley Brown as ‘Mary Poppins’ & Gavin Lee as ‘Bert,’ original Broadway company of “Mary Poppins” at the New
Amsterdam Theatre Copyright 2006 Disney/CML. Photo by Joan Marcus
“People really need to come out and see this show,” Lee
enthused. “We’ve got this enormous dollhouse version of the Banks house which
dances out onto the stage. We’ve got Broadway’s original Mary Poppins, the lovely Ashley
Brown. And our hugely talented supporting cast. And me.”
Well, the folks in the Windy City must have been really
eager to see Mr. Lee and the other members of the “Mary Poppins” National Tour
cast. Because of the high demand for tickets, what was once supposed to have been
a 12-week long engagement has now been turned into a 20-week long stand. And beyond
that, this National Tour will be making stops in Cleveland (July 17th
through August 9th), St. Louis (August 13th – 30th),
Minneapolis (September 3rd – 20th), Dallas (September 24th
– October 18th) and Los Angeles (November 13th – January 9th,
2010).
(L to R) Ashley Brown as ‘Mary Poppins,’ Katherine Leigh Doherty as ‘Jane Banks,’ Alexander Scheitinger as ‘Michael Banks,’ Gavin Lee as ‘Bert,’ and the original Broadway company of “Mary Poppins” at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Copyright 2006 Disney/CML. Photo by Joan Marcus
So if you’d like see Gavin Lee “Step in Time” all the way up,
across and down that proscenium without stopping, then you need to get some
tickets to the National Tour of Cameron Mackintosh & Disney’s “Mary
Poppins.” For further information on the Cadillac Palace Theatre stand and/or
other stops on this show’s National Tour, please click on this link.