supercalifragicorrection

I was out to dinner the other night when a friend commented that perhaps Mary Poppins (the Broadway show) followed the books instead of the movie. We both agreed this didn't sound very Disney-like. Lo and behold, that is the case after all. I looked up a plot synopsis on Wikipedia and, sure enough, Act I follows the first book and Act II follows the second book.

This really explains a lot. All of the changes don't seem nearly as random or odd. But at the same time, I don't understand this decision. Surely the majority of people going to this show are like me and expect something closer to the film. Of course, the film doesn't lend itself easily to the stage. But if anyone can figure it out, it's Disney. Their sets are phenomenal, state-of-the-art. I mean, seriously, if you can adapt the freaking Lion King to the stage than you can do anything.

If anything, this just adds a bit to my disappointment. But, then again, Disney isn't very good at knowing what I want from it's stage shows. Every now and then they really hit the mark. The rest of the time you get Tarzan and that awful Finding Nemo thing in Animal Kingdom. Which, of course, has the coolest puppets that I have ever seen on a fabulous set. With lyrics written by a 5 year-old. "This is really bad/I miss my dad..."

But, I digress. This makes Mrs. Corry and Miss Andrews and the Heavens all less random but still as perplexing. I don't think all of the Disney Magic in the world can save this one.

Ah! The master! step in time...

Last night, I went to see Mary Poppins at the Aronoff Center. I must say, I was disappointed with it.

I think I always have issues seeing shows that have movie versions that I like. Little Shop of Horrors, for instance. Mary Poppins was the same way but I think it had a lot more issues.
The saying "let's not reinvent the wheel" is uttered around here quite a bit and I think it applies to this show. They made an awful lot of changes adapting it and I think they were largely unnecessary.

The majority, if not all, of the songs are shortened or changed, seemingly just for the sake of changing them. I went there expecting the hear all the familiar tunes but it left something lacking not hearing them as they were in the film, granted a lack of Julie Andrews is probably much more damaging than that.

In the movie, they have the whole trippy horse scene with the animated penguins and so on. My mother and I were very curious how they would do this on stage. It was replaced with a scene where statues in the park come to life. They were dancers in skintight statue-colored catsuits with leaves covering their not-visible-under-the-catsuit---erm--private parts. It was a pretty neat idea and really the only change that worked for me.

Later on for "Supercalifragilistic..." they go into this weirdo Tim Burton candy shop place that appears in the park and is run by a woman with a Seuss-ian green braid that stuck straight into the air. Mary Poppins spells out the word with some candy letters? Yeah...It was weird. I don't know how things like this make it out of the board room or wherever they are born. The dancing for this song was phenomenal, though. Good enough, I think, to make up for the bizarre-ness of the candy shop and its drag queen-esque staff.

Mr. and Mrs. Banks sort of weigh the whole show down. Mrs. Banks tries unsuccessfully to throw a tea party and no one comes and...that's that. It was yet another part that seemed clunky and thrown in and didn't really seem to have a purpose. No women's suffrage here. Mr. Banks is less the hilariously uptight patriarch and more a deeply damaged and wholly unpleasant man. When he finally asks his son to fly a kite with him, it somehow lacked the sincerity and sweetness it does in the film. The stage show also adds "Holy Terror" Miss Andrews, Mr. Banks' childhood nanny who gets shouldered with the blame for all of his problems. Again, she seems thrown in---an afterthought. Why is she there? Comic relief, I suppose? She was funny; I'll give her that.

In the show, the Banks have a cook and a male housekeeper. They are obviously meant to be comic relief but...not so much. I don't know who to blame for this, really. They had a lot of broad physical comedy, falling into dishes and the like, and it was just not well executed. For example, at one point he goes inexplicably reeling towards a table and awkwardly slams his fists on either side, making the table split in half. The only reason I can imagine that he would do this is because he is an actor in a play and they got this great stunt table that splits in half and that's what the director told him to do. It was just so awkward. Again, I couldn't figure out if it was the blocking or the actor. Possibly both.

Mary Poppins was good, not great. I'm fairly certain we had the understudy. She definitely had the character down, so it leaves one wondering if the script is really more to blame.

The big stand-out of the night was Burt. He was absolutely fantastic. If I could replace Dick van Dyke with that actor, the film would be perfect. That is how good he was. Like a dancing Atlas, he carries the entire show on his capable shoulders. Could you sing while hanging upside down, fifty feet in the air? This guy effing can. I could gush and gush and gush about him. I even had my pen and Playbill ready in case he was out with a Broadway Cares bucket. I may even say that its worth seeing the show just to watch this guy. He is what you go to see.

The thing that really bothered me throughout was the plot. Disney just really isn't too good at the whole Broadway thing (Lion King of course being the exception). It didn't flow and I found myself confused several times. Unnecessary additions and awkward exclusions abounded. In the end, they go up into the Heavens? And then Mary Poppins tells Michael that he won't go there again for a long time? What is that about?? Really weird. All the children's toys come to life and complain about how badly they are treated. Then Mary Poppins leaves with them right before intermission. What? Who wrote this, an eight year-old? It also ran three hours long, which contradicts all the additions that seemed to be for kids' sake.

Overall, I'd say see it out of curiosity if you'd like but a night in watching the DVD is more enjoyable. I know there are probably a lot of people screaming at me through the computer for comparing it to the movie like that but all the stage show made me want to do was watch it.

(Oh, and when we left, we were standing at the valet desk and a woman said, "I had the Land Rover but I don't think you gave me a ticket for it." And so I said, "Oh yes, I had the Lexus but you didn't give me a ticket either." I was being hilarious but she seriously looked at me like I just took a dump right there on her shoes. Even my mom agreed that she was a bitch.)

And they removed "What's all this?! What's all this!!" from "Step in Time". Which is my very favorite part. And no bank run! You see? I just can't stop comparing it to the film. Well, there you have my humble opinion. And you didn't even have to ask.

a cautionary tale

I will never forget the time that I almost died at Disney World. Okay, I'm being a bit dramatical. But it's my right! So my friend Jennie and I had just arrived in Disney World. We were staying on the Boardwalk so we headed for Epcot as soon as we got there. We were in line for Soarin' and were about 50 minutes deep in a 90 minute wait. We were engaged in a pretty heated battle with the people behind us. They were a pushy family and were trying to sneakily move past us in the wide queue line, as will happen to a group of two. The two of us sort of banded together with the family in front of us to prevent them from moving past. We made something of a wall and we could see the woman trying to edge past... It was really annoying. But at the same time I wonder if we were all on the same page in all that. Anyway, on to the dying part.

We were enjoying the trivia thingies on the wall and our queue combat when all of a sudden I knew I was about to create a protein spill. There was an exit from the queue, so I told Jennie to stay in line and I was gonna go vom. Then I got really hot and everything started sounding very far away. That's when everything went blue. I don't black out, I blue out. This is the part I don't recall, but I apparently lurched forward towards the railing and knocked some people's shit off of it. I bet I looked awesome. That's when the two Mom's involved in our battle went into full Mom mode. Before I knew it the lady in front gave me a water bottle and the lady behind me put a cool compress on my neck. I was coming out of my haze when the woman in front of me said, "Look, her sweat broke!" and then offered me some Goldfish crackers.

They saved me, really. I had made the grave error of not hydrating myself properly for a day of July Orlando heat. Air conditioning or not, you must, MUST, have a bottle of water upon arrival. I wouldn't have died, surely. But it would have forever been the vacation where Annie passed out in line and the medics had to come and blah blah. But thanks to those helpful Moms, I made a speedy recovery and we all just waited in line and got on the ride like nothing happened. I'm just as grateful that they acted like this was completely normal and I didn't almost just pass out in line as I am that they helped me. When you're in a queue line, you're part of a team. You're all there, you're all gonna have to wait. You have to function as a community. Sometimes you have to whip out a cold compress to remember that people in line are just that--people. They're not just orange cones in your way. And sometimes they almost die and throw up on you and knock your stuff over. And that is when you offer them Goldfish.

More favorite Disney memories to come. What will be next? The dirty diaper one? The one in which Grandma told Grandpa to shut up? We shall see!

my brains rotting out

Of everything I read, of everything I try to learn about, the one thing that is really effortless is Disney. Somehow I retain all the fun facts that I read. I read so many nonfiction books trying to increase my knowledge of science and history, but my brain is like a sieve when it comes to these facts. Gimme a Disney book, though, and it all stays up there. The only thing I have trouble with is names.

This would really come in handy if there was some sort of Disney-related degree. If I were to create such a degree, I'd definitely call it something awesome. Like Disnetics.

In other news, my mom didn't email me back all day. The nerve of that woman! I asked her a question! A QUESTION!!!

My DVR is an exceedingly bleak affair right now and I really just want to watch TV all night and go to bed early. I went out last night, which I'm really not accustomed to doing, and we stayed out til midders which is very late indeed for me when I have to work the next day. To put it simply, "Last night drinky, today no thinky".

There are some kids in my peripheral and they're not being watched in the least and I'm just waiting for something bad to happen. They're messing around on this little bench and fighting over who gets to sit there. Where is their mother?? So many orphans in this place. We have orphans often. Anybody? Gilbert and Sullivan? No? Ok. See ya later.

today, i start blogging more. about nothing.

After a few hopeless months after I had the idea to go to Disney for my birthday, my boyfriend took me out to the bar to toast to the fact that he actually got a week off of work in early December! This means that we are off to Disney World! Our last vacation together proved to be quite a test (we were supposed to go to the Virgin Islands...three days later we ended up in Los Angeles) so I'm hoping this one is just relaxing. If we can make it through that, then we can certainly handle this. (Knock on blog *knock*)

We've decided to drive. We thought it through and, while it certainly has its cons, it seems like the best option for us. I came up with a brilliant idea to save us some money--ask my parents to pay for gas as my birthday gift. Driving was pretty much the only option in my mind after the fiasco Hellta (har) put us through (buddy passes or not, they don't care what happens to you!!!). My mom looked on Travelocity and offered to buy us two plane tickets down, since the price wasn't a whole lot more than gas would be. After yet more thought, we said we'd prefer to drive. I want to do my Christmas shopping down there and I don't exactly want to worry about cramming everything into a suitcase and paying however much when my luggage weighs too much only to have my luggage disappear into a black hole somewhere and me without my receipts. Wes is looking forward to driving through the "BBQ Belt" (I love him 'cause he's classy) and I'm looking forward to blasting Disney Mania CDs. Plus, really, I genuinely enjoy driving, especially such long distances. I feel like an explorer, I guess. Cheap thrills for me.

Now she's looking into renting a car because she claims she can get low rates at work ($20 a day, she claims). I may consider that if the price really is that low, I would prefer not to add so many miles to my car which is currently at about 86,000 miles.

Plus I need the motivation to finish cleaning out my car, as I have realized it is not a storage area.

Let me tell you a few reasons why this trip is especially exciting!
1) While Wes had a little taste on our three hour Disneyland visit, he's never been to Disney World. And its going to be Christmas decor time, which is quite romantical. Its always fun to be with someone on their first trip, because, not to be fannoying, its a magical place and you get to see them realize it. And see how truly awesome it is. And tell them fun facts!

2) Its gonna be empty! I haven't found any special goings-on yet, though in years past there have been cheer competitions at this time. But even with that, it still will be pretty chill. Which means we won't have to worry about time too much. Those are the best trips. I thrive under pressure and can work out a helluva Disney World schedule, but I really prefer cool temps and low crowds.

3) Christmas shopping! I've done my Christmas shopping in Disney before and its such a treat! Everyone loves all their gifts (who wouldn't love pink and purple Princess hot chocolate and the newest, hottest HSM merch?).

4) Rehabbed Space Mountain will be open by then (as long as it gets done on schedule, I don't really know how good they are about that...Dan? Anyone? Knowledge?) so I'll get to see the new interactive queue. I also haven't been in 2 years, so I'll get to finally go on the refurbed Rio del Tiempo! New Toy Story ride looks fun and there's a Dinosaur dining area at Pleasure Island. I heard they closed something like 8 of the night clubs though... I hope 8 Trax is still there!

Well, there's my Disney excitement blog. Oh! Oh! And I get to take my Disney tattoo to the park for the first time. I just hope they don't all start passing me around.