{"id":79430,"date":"2025-05-06T15:05:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/79430\/"},"modified":"2025-05-06T15:05:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:05:12","slug":"mary-poppins-flies-into-birmingham-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/79430\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Poppins Flies into Birmingham this Summer!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI was very interested in theatre since I was a little girl, but not really even knowing what musical theatre was. \u00a0I didn\u2019t understand it as a medium, but I knew that I loved to sing and dance. \u00a0A relative of mine saw an advertisement in the newspaper for the casting for \u201cLes Miserables\u201d children for the 10th anniversary, and my parents took me along and I got in. \u00a0I was thrown in at the deep end in one of the most iconic musicals of all time, playing the role of young Eponine at just six years old!\u201d Stefanie told me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen in my teens, I went to the Victorian College of the Arts and did a three year bachelor\u2019s degree there and got some formal training, and the rest is history,\u201d Stefanie added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got the role of Mary Poppins a few years ago now and did the Australian tour first and when the opportunity arose to come here and continue, I just knew I wanted to do it and to see the UK too. \u00a0I am loving the show; it is just such a gift of a role and the show has stood the test of time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe “Mary Poppins” Company<\/p>\n

Mary Poppins is such a strong, independent woman of her time and the storyline is still as relevant today as it was when it was written and published back in 1934. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt promotes family values, and the themes are as prevalent today as back then and I think that is why people keep coming along to see it,\u201d said Stefanie. \u201cPeople revisit it with their children and their grandchildren because there really is something in it for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously the sixties movie version is the one we all love and remember, starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, and I wondered if Stefanie had studied Julie\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I studied it, but she was so good and a performance at that level is hard to get out of your head. \u00a0That said, the script is different to the film, not that people will not get to see their favourite bits of the film that they love, but you do get a sense that it is a slightly different telling and then that encourages you to make it your own,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The audition process for the role was lengthy, mainly due to Covid 19, with a lockdown period right in the middle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so ready, and feeling really confident, but then the entire process was pulled out from underneath us and I didn\u2019t know what would happen. \u00a0But then Jack and I were flown to London to audition for Cameron MacIntosh and we performed on the set of the West End stage, which was magical,\u201d said Stefanie.<\/p>\n

Now, there is one particular word that everyone associates with Mary Poppins, but can you actually say it? It is, of course, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and that word forms one of the most entertaining musical theatre numbers you will ever see!<\/p>\n

The choreography for this number is very specific, intricate and fast. \u00a0I wondered how difficult it had been to learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took a while to learn, but the creative team is so good at teaching it, and they have learnt the best way to teach it and the best language to use to describe what the movements actually are, and because they have refined that process, we all picked it up relatively quickly,\u201d said Stefanie. \u00a0\u201cThe movements flow so beautifully that it becomes second nature and I don\u2019t think any of us will ever forget that choreography!\u201d she laughed!<\/p>\n

Stefanie continued, \u201cOne of the original choreographers of the show, his partner is deaf and so some of the movements came from sign language. \u00a0It is great that the show has found that extra level on which to communicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn every city and venue we have interpreted and access shows and it is good to know that we can reach people who are often forgotten,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But \u201cSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious\u201d is not the most challenging number in the show, believe it or not. \u00a0\u201cStep in Time\u201d is 11 minutes long,\u201d Stefanie told me. \u00a0\u201cMy costumes, as beautiful as they are, are really heavy and dancing quickly and doing a lot of quick foot work means it is a marathon, but it is still so rewarding because the audience love it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JackJack Chambers as “Bert” and the Chimney Sweeps.<\/p>\n

Be prepared for some amazing magic in the show too. \u00a0\u201cThe designers of the show just baffle me with how clever they are,\u201d said Stefanie. \u00a0\u201cIt is wonderful when you hear the gasps from the crowd and little voices saying, \u201chow did they do that?\u201d \u00a0You feel as if you are creating life long memories for children.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wouldn\u2019t be \u201cMary Poppins\u201d unless everyone\u2019s favourite nanny flew across the theatre and Stefanie has the honour of doing just that at every performance. \u00a0\u201cIt is a wonderful experience, and probably most actors dream of flying during a show because it is so magical. \u00a0I have never been afraid of heights and I definitely feel very safe. \u00a0It is a tough show for any \u201cMary\u201d but to have that experience at the end is so rewarding. \u00a0 It is a wonderful way to end a show,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary Poppins in Flight<\/p>\n

Although the title of the show is the main character\u2019s name, Stefanie is insistent that it is a show about the Banks Family rather than just Mary. \u00a0\u201cThey are the ones who have the story arc and I am there to guide them through. The child actors who play Jane and Michael are wonderful,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can give them a hundred and one lines and they will learn them and say them perfectly every night. \u00a0They make us smile so much and keep us focused. There are five sets, so ten children in total and they are all wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary with Jane and Michael Banks<\/p>\n

While Mary is a dream role for Stefanie at the moment, there are other roles she would like to play of course.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to continue to work for Cameron MacIntosh, perhaps in Les Miseables, and I also love Mrs Lovatt from Sweeney Todd,\u201d she told me. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Stefanie is looking ahead to Chsitmas time. \u00a0\u201cI am married to a wonderful man who is also an actor and so we like to make decisions about work together. \u00a0I am happy playing Mary at the moment though, and so let\u2019s see what comes next,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Stefanie Jones is without a doubt \u201cSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious\u201d, \u201cpractically perfect in every way\u201d and \u201ca spoonful of sugar\u201d to sweeten the family experience of theatre. I for one cannot wait to see her!<\/p>\n

For tickets for \u201cMary Poppins\u201d at the Birmingham Hippodrome, from July 16-August 23, visit birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0121 689 3000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI was very interested in theatre since I was a little girl, but not really even knowing what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,20875,748,38765,393,77,4884,38763,38762,16,15,38764,35937,38761],"class_list":{"0":"post-79430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-birmingham-entertainment","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-dudley-entertainment","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-sandwell-entertainment","16":"tag-staffordshire-entertainment","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-walsall-entertainment","20":"tag-wolverhampton-entertainment","21":"tag-wyre-forest-entertainment"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114461509524967115","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}