Mary Poppins flies straight to your heart next weekend

Disney's lovable and magical nanny from the 1900s will take the stage next weekend at the River Campus, along with nearly 200 other performers, to bring to life one of the most beloved childhood stories, "Mary Poppins."

Senior Abigail Alsmeyer, originally from St. Charles, Missouri, portrays Mary Poppins and is excited about the production.

"It's a great story, has a great message, and it has familiar songs that everybody knows," Alsmeyer said. "It's just so joyful and magical. 'Joyful' I think is just the word to describe the show. It's so heart warming! No matter who you are you can relate to a character in the show."

Alsmeyer has been performing since she was 7 years old and has wanted to do musical theater her entire life. Mary Poppins was also her favorite movie growing up.

"The musical pulls from the books, as well as the movie. There are a lot of scenes that are directly from the books. It's really cool," Alsmeyer said.

Jose Alpizar rehearses his role of "Bert" during the musical number "A Step in Time" during Southeast Missouri State's rehearsal for "Mary Poppins" on Thursday.KASSI JACKSON

Originally from Costa Rica, senior Jose Alpizar -- who plays fun-loving, jack-of-all-trades Bert -- decided in high school he wanted to do theater for the rest of his life.

"Up until then I thought I wanted to be a doctor," Alpizar said. "Throughout my entire career here I've been incredibly blessed to be able to play really fun characters, but this one honestly has been one of the most, if not the most challenging one I've played."

Both Alsmeyer and Alpizar said they never have been involved in a Disney production in the past, but they both love Disney.

Alpizar said the story is still the same, and one thing he loves is the musical continues on from the movie.

"There's still so much magic to it," Alpizar said. "One of the things I love about doing theater is showing people, like my parents or family who have never seen a musical before."

KASSI JACKSON ~ kjackson@semissourian.com Abigail Alsmeyer rehearses her role of Mary Poppins during Southeast Missouri State's rehearsal for Mary Poppins Feb. 8, 2018 at The Conservatory of Theatre and Dance performance hall.

Alpizar said it's definitely such an awesome way to go out, because he and Alsmeyer are both graduating in May.

Alpizar said there's a show-stopping number in Act II called 'Step in Time.'

"Basically what happens is there's so much magic in the air, on the rooftops, that I end up going upside-down," Alpizar said. "I'll walk up horizontally, then I flip upside-down on the roof, while I'm tap-dancing, then I flip back down, on the way down."

The show is a "dancical," according to Alpizar, and Alsmeyer labeled the production as a triple-threat show.

"The vocals are ridiculously challenging. They sound super easy, but that's what makes them so hard. Our entire cast has been working so hard," Alsmeyer said. "I definitely fly multiple times over the stage, which is something I have never done before. So I'm very excited. I'm kind of afraid of heights."

Dr. Kenneth Stilson, chair of The Conservatory of Theatre and Dance and director of the University's "Mary Poppins" production, said he directs, on average, three shows a year including musicals and non-musicals.

Stilson said the time involved in each production starts a year ahead, and the actual design phase, along with casting, starts anywhere from three to six months in advance.

"We have over 200 majors in The Conservatory of Theatre and Dance, and every single one of them are involved in every single production," Stilson said.

He said in addition to 35 actors, there is an equal number of crew backstage, and the construction crews involve "everybody." The faculty and staff adds approximately 30 more people.

According to Stilson, the show is selling really well.

"If you want good seats, you better get tickets early. When you do a Disney show, they come out of the woodwork. It's wonderful. And we love doing shows like this," Stilson said. "It's a huge show. It's a spectacle of sorts. A show like this, we will play to probably 3,500 to 4,000 people."

Stilson said Friday nights usually have the biggest audience, because that's when a lot of parents attend.

"We have some local students, but most of them come from all over the place," Stilson said. "We've got numerous students from Chicago and Memphis, Kansas City and of course St. Louis. We even have someone from California in the show."

The interpretation certainly will be original, but the intent is to be true to the story, according to Stilson.

"There's going to be a lot of magic involved, because Mary Poppins is magic, and Bert, the chimney sweep, is magic," Stilson said.

There also is "flying" in the show with Mary, and Bert does the famous upside-down walk on the rafters, all the way across the proscenium arch.

According to music director Joshua Harvey, there's music nonstop from beginning to end.

"A lot of the musicians said it's the most difficult show they've ever played, which is something to say," Harvey said. "It's a very talented, younger cast."

Michelle Contrino, resident choreographer, said unlike the script to the music, there's no script for the dancing.

"I have to create it myself," Contrino said. "The second thing is, I can't teach them how to dance. They have to know how to dance, so I can give them the steps and phrases, and they should be able to do it."

Alsmeyer said she wasn't even cast her first semester, but now she's "leaving as a leading lady."

"I've come full circle," Alsmeyer said.

The show is part of the Rhodes 101 Stops and Commerce Bank Theatre and Dance Series, and performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 to 24 and 2 p.m. Feb. 25 in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632

Pertinent address:

518 S Fountain St, Cape Girardeau, MO 63703