Catholic Central's Mary Poppins page

Show Photo Gallery - More Show Photos

Cast Posters

From the Director's Chair ... Laurie Mitchell

Back in 2007 when I was first hired at Catholic Central, I was asked what musical I might like to present and I said Mary Poppins. I didn't know at that time, that it would be unavailable for a long while because it was on Broadway. As a production staff it has been on our "to do" list for a few years and this year we finally tackled it - and I think "tackle" is the correct word! It is an iconic show with wonderful but huge and demanding musical numbers to learn and choreograph; 126 pages of script to interpret and relay the story through 40 different characters; over 100 period and fantasy costumes are required; tricks and magic on stage are needed and in our intimate size of theatre this show-biz is a "trick" in itself! Our live orchestra has to "watch" the show to know the cues and this technology is challenging and a level of finesse in doing so is certainly needed; licensing prices for show rights and materials are always rising and in American funds no less so the production costs are always keeping us on our toes to make sure we can pay our bills. I think this process from auditioning, rehearsing, fittings, building, painting, fund raising, staging, sound, solving a variety of challenging questions and problems, ticket sales, program creation, performing and striking all create character and valuable learning for all involved and we hope at the same time, create an enjoyable and entertaining show for our audience.

103 show shirts were ordered this year -THANK YOU to everyone for their commitment and support, who makes a show of this size and caliber possible.