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Mary Poppins the musical was a sell-out in Melbourne. Will it hit the same heights in Sydney? Sarah McInerney explores the lure of Mary.
It's a show that can make grown men cry and eight year olds gasp in amazement.
Mary Poppins and her magical umbrella have floated into Sydney, and if it's successful run in Melbourne is anything to go by, theatregoers young and old could be singing supercalifragilisticexpialidocious before they know it.
In some ways it's hard to believe that a film from the 1960s can be transformed into a musical that resonates with audiences today. But the Disney film incarnation is just the tip of the Mary Poppins iceberg. What is little known in Australia is that the film was based on a series of books written by the late Pamela Travers, who was born in Queensland.
These have a darker side that was not tapped into for the film, but which Julian Fellowes used when he wrote the musical's script.
© Fairfax Media
