Drama Teacher Ross MacDonald’s first musical at the Upper School (US) nearly sold out four performances on March 5, 6, and 7 when students took the stage to turn misery into merriment in “Mary Poppins.”
The cast of 27 featured talent from veteran upperclassmen and younger students new to US shows.
Tess Bierly ’22, who played Jane Banks, a girl in need of a nanny, said she enjoyed the experience of acting in her first high school production.
“Getting to work with people of different grades and people I didn’t know before was such a cool experience,” she said.
Her favorite scene to perform, she added, was one where she and Charlie Druker ’22—starring as her brother, Michael Banks—play tag on the stage. There was no set blocking for the scene, Tess said, so they got to run around the stage in a different pattern each show.
Charlie, who acted in numerous shows in the Middle School (MS) and performed in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” at the US last winter, said “Mary Poppins” was his favorite show because of how fun and supportive the cast was. He also praised the director’s unique style.
“Mr. MacDonald is always very, very upfront about what he wants from us,” Charlie said. “He encourages us to be really creative, and we will go way over the top, and then he’ll tell us if we need to tone it down. But usually he’ll just let us be really crazy and over the top, which is a lot of fun.”
Charlie’s father, Neil Druker P’18,’19,’22, said he thought the choreography in the musical was more advanced than he’d seen in past school productions.
“It required a lot of practice, and it was obvious that they did a really good job on it,” Mr. Druker said. “The singing was terrific, and there were some truly remarkable voices.”
Maya Benjamin ’22, who saw the show twice, said she was blown away both times, adding that her favorite part was when the cast performed “Step In Time.”
“There were a lot of sophomores in this show,” Maya said. “You see them in the classroom, you see them on the field, but seeing your friends up there on stage was especially cool.”
Oboist Philip Liu ’20, who has played in all four musicals in his time at the US, said “Mary Poppins” was among the hardest, thanks to the score’s difficult keys.
“Usually a song averages about two or three flats or sharps, but most of these songs have at least five or six, which made it exponentially harder,” Philip said. “But it was still a really fun time.”
Effective collaboration between Mr. MacDonald and first-year Orchestra Director Elliot Cless ’02 made for organized rehearsals and overall preparedness, he added.
This year’s musical also had a student as assistant director. Virginia Mutz ’20 said Mr. MacDonald created the position for her so that she could be involved in the musical and experience the directing process.
“I was like his right-hand girl, so I’d help him with every scene and go over how he did it,” Virginia said. “It was mainly a learning experience because directing is something that I’m super passionate about.”
Tina Kulow ’20, who played the titular role of Mary Poppins, said the show was the first she ever saw on Broadway. It inspired her to pursue theater as a little girl, so playing the British nanny as her last role at the school felt special.
“I thought prepping for Mary would be easy since I knew the show so well already, and boy, was I wrong,” Tina said. “Not only did I need to be this whimsical person who brings joy to those around her, but I had to think about Mary as an individual. It’s easy to get caught up in the magical sweetness of her character, and it was really challenging to dig deeper, past the sugary exterior.”
Tina said “Feed the Birds,” which she performed with Alexandra Fabbri ’23, was her favorite number. She and Alexandra became friends in the fall, she added, and since then she has enjoyed showing Alexandra the ropes of theater at the US.
“It was really special to get to do a duet with her in my final high school show and her first high school show. Her performance, especially, blew me away every night. She’s grown so much in just the last three months,” Tina said. “I can’t wait to see where she’ll be in three years when she’s in my shoes.”
Tina added that Myles Nadeau-Davis ’20, who played Bert, and Joe Murphy ’20, who filled in for Myles as Bert when Myles wasn’t able to perform in the Saturday matinee, also deserved a shout-out.
“Joe did a fantastic job as Myles’ understudy, especially considering that he had two weeks to learn the show,” Tina said. “And Myles did a phenomenal job in his role.”
Mr. MacDonald said “Mary Poppins” was one of his favorite shows he’s ever directed—a welcome feeling, he said, since he has directed many plays in his career but can count on one hand the number of musicals he’s done.
“It’s a real joy to be able to have audience members say that they were laughing and crying, because that’s life,” he said. “And if we’ve done that, we’ve done a really good job.”
