<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><head><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:16px"><div align="center" style="text-align:center" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2849"><b id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2850">Magical Medicine<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2851"></o:p></b></div><div align="center" style="text-align:center" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2849"><b><br></b></div><div align="center" style="text-align:center" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2852">By Tom Wachunas<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2853"></o:p></div><div align="center" style="text-align:center" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2854"><o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2855"> </o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2856"> For those of us
familiar with Disney’s 1964 family film classic,<i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2857"> Mary</i> <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2858">Poppins</i>, featuring
the memorable chemistry between Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke<i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2859">, </i>it might be understandable to wonder
how a stage version (this one opened on Broadway in 2006) featuring local
talent could possibly measure up. But perish the thought. This is, after all,
the Players Guild Theatre, and just about every aspect of this mainstage offering
is, as the title of one song suggests, practically perfect.<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2860"></o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2856"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2861"> Directed by Michael
Lawrence Akers (who also choreographed the show along with Bart Herman), the
well-practiced cast is, in a word, extraordinary. The big ensemble songs are
executed with a practically tribal intensity, replete with luscious harmonies
and commanding choreographic bravura (even the final curtain call is an
electrifying act in itself), all skillfully synced with the vibrant live orchestra
led by Steve Parsons. And the set pieces designed by Joshua Erichsen,
especially the chimneyed London rooftops spread across the stage in Act Two,
are impressive. <o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2862"></o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2861"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2863"> In the title role
of the nanny hired to serve the troubled Banks family in 1910 London, Meg
Martinez is an utterly magnetic presence, even if she does seem a bit nervous
hanging on to her flying umbrella. She’s an eminently gifted singer as well as
very attentive to her character’s more subtle psychological underpinnings. Yes, she’s genuinely bubbly and loving. Yet
despite her infectious charisma, she’s also a wise loner in a complicated sort
of way, and fully capable of answering any sassy challenge to her position with
sardonic wit.<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2864"></o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2863"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2865"> Those challenges
come primarily in the form of George Banks, the family patriarch with misplaced
priorities, and early on, the rambunctious children, Jane and Michael. As the
irascible Mr. Banks, Micah Harvey is compelling in his own right, obsessed with
his job as a banker and exuding a chilling detachment from his children as well
as his wife, Winifred, played by Amanda Medley. Like the children, she’s
starved for really authentic love. Medley’s piercing, bittersweet voice is a
poignant embodiment of fragility, longing, and frustration initially, but as
the story progresses, we watch her gather confidence when her hopelessness is palpably
transformed into family healing. Through it all, young Brooklyn Fockler as
Jane, and Adam Petrosino as Michael, perform with endearing - at times even startling – panache. To quote
another iconic song, <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2866">Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius,</i>
they “…always sound precocious.” <o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2867"></o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2865"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2868"> Also quite
astonishing is the vivacious energy that the versatile Justin Edenhofer stirs
up in his role of the street-hardened yet tender Bert (Dick Van Dyke’s role in
the film). He’s something of the amiable ringmaster of ceremonies here. And nowhere
are his lithe and limber capabilities more apparent than in the thrilling ensemble
number, <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2869">Step in Time, </i>wherein he’s
literally soaring above the crowd, gingerly stepping across the twirling tops
of wire brooms held aloft by his fellow Chimney Sweeps. An equally enchanted
scene ensues a little earlier in Act Two as Michael (Adam Petrosino) gleefully
guides a spot-lighted kite that dances in the air above the stage during <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2870">Let’s Go Fly a Kite.<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2871"></o:p></i></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2868"><i><br></i></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2872"><i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2873"> </i>Among other delectable highlights are
the hilarious performances by Julie Connair and Matthew Heppe as the
easily-panicked household servants; Joey Cogan as both an animated marble
statue in the park and Jane’s haunted toy doll, Valentine; and Annie Giancola
as the stern and spooky Miss Andrew, a “holy terror” of a nanny who can sing
with operatic intensity. <o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2874"></o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2872"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2875"> It’s far more than
just a spoonful of sugar that makes Mary Poppins’ magical medicine go down with
such efficacious and certainly entertaining, results. Sweet, even syrupy, to be
sure. But more importantly, this wondrous concoction is also laced through and
through with an earnest message of real kindness and compassion – enough to
soften the hardest of hearts “…in a most delightful way.”</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2875"> <o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2876"></o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2877"> <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2878">Mary Poppins, </i>at Players Guild Theatre,
1001Market Avenue N., Canton, Ohio/ THROUGH MAY 29 / Shows at 8 p.m. Friday and
Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday / Tickets: $26 adults, $23 seniors, $19 ages 17 and
younger, at 330.453.7617 or <a href="http://www.playersguildtheatre.com/" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2879">www.playersguildtheatre.com</a>
<o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2880"></o:p></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2877"><br></div><div>
</div><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2881"> For other
commentaries by Tom Wachunas on the performing and visual arts in the Canton
area, please visit his blog, ARTWACH, at <a href="http://www.artwach.blogspot.com/" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2882" class="enhancr2_c4595ee6-d286-a85b-566a-ac22a5085dbf">ARTWACH</a> <o:p id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2883"></o:p></div><div><br></div><div id="enhancr2_c4595ee6-d286-a85b-566a-ac22a5085dbf" class="yahoo-link-enhancr-card ymail-preserve-class ymail-preserve-style img-overlay-selected" style="max-width:400px;font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" contenteditable="false" data-url="http://www.artwach.blogspot.com/" data-type="yenhancr" data-category="article" data-embed-url="" data-size="medium" dir="ltr"> <a href="http://www.artwach.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration:none !important; color: #000 !important;" class="yahoo-enhancr-cardlink" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2938"> <table class="card-wrapper yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="max-width:400px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2937"> <tbody id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2936"><tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2935"> <td width="400" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2934"> <table class="card yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" style="max-width:400px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2933"> <tbody id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2932"><tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2931"> <td class="card-primary-image-cell" style="background:#000 url('https://s.yimg.com/vv//api/res/1.2/UXRI8_hKoT8xqmHIFrEHZw--/YXBwaWQ9bWFpbDtmaT1maWxsO2g9MjAwO3c9NDAw/https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BrnIQQ6kcY/VzowwdJl3mI/AAAAAAAADY0/VIskqcQ9ktYN4RLyfdVV3Io0v7Av4ynCgCLcB/s320/AR-160519465.jpg%2526MaxW%253D650.jpg.cf.jpg') no-repeat center center;background-size:cover;height:200px;position:relative;" background="https://s.yimg.com/vv//api/res/1.2/UXRI8_hKoT8xqmHIFrEHZw--/YXBwaWQ9bWFpbDtmaT1maWxsO2g9MjAwO3c9NDAw/https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BrnIQQ6kcY/VzowwdJl3mI/AAAAAAAADY0/VIskqcQ9ktYN4RLyfdVV3Io0v7Av4ynCgCLcB/s320/AR-160519465.jpg%2526MaxW%253D650.jpg.cf.jpg" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2930"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:400px;height:218px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/vv//api/res/1.2/UXRI8_hKoT8xqmHIFrEHZw--/YXBwaWQ9bWFpbDtmaT1maWxsO2g9MjAwO3c9NDAw/https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BrnIQQ6kcY/VzowwdJl3mI/AAAAAAAADY0/VIskqcQ9ktYN4RLyfdVV3Io0v7Av4ynCgCLcB/s320/AR-160519465.jpg%2526MaxW%253D650.jpg.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--> <table class="yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" valign="top" style="width:100%;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2929"> <tbody id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2928"><tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2927"> <td style="background:transparent url('https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/12/overlay-tile.png') repeat left top;height:200px;" background="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/12/overlay-tile.png" bgcolor="transparent" valign="top" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2926"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:400px;height:218px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/12/overlay-tile.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--> <table class="yahoo-ignore-table" height="185" style="width:100%;height:185px;min-height:185px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2925"> <tbody><tr> <td class="card-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top;"> </td> <td class="card-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top;"> <div class="card-share-container"></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2960"> <td id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2959"> <table class="card-info yahoo-ignore-table" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="background:#fff;position:relative;z-index:2;width:95%;max-width:380px;border:1px solid #e0e4e9;border-bottom:3px solid #000000;margin-top:-40px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2958"> <tbody id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2957"><tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2956"> <td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;"> </td> <td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:16px 12px;width:99%;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1463431470191_2955"> <h2 class="card-title" style="font-size: 16px; 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