Duncan Anderson, Wayne Gale, Peter Francis, Alan White, Daniel Corbishley built the spectacular sets, from sweet machines to a dunny – complete with massive, superbly painted backcloths (supervised by Bronwyn White). Sheryl Gale collected the numerous antique props required.
The stage managers, Corina Herbert, Rach Hayter and Angus Young had their exceptionally busy teams working efficiently, quickly and silently. Poor stage management would have meant the pace dropping off and a subsequent loss of the ‘magic’. The advanced and inventive lighting design was by Karen Francis, with the spotlights operated by Suzy Wiseman, Ruby Liddlelow, and Fiona Kennedy.

Under the supervision of their teacher, Miss Phillips (Kristie Hennessy), the eight-year-old twins, Jeremy (Sebastian Cruse) and Jemima Potts (Marissa Pereira) are looking around Mr Coggins’ (Jayden Lyon) garage backyard when they find the wreck of a British Grand Prix winner. As they play on it, the local scrap metal man (Oliver Clare) offers Mr Coggins 30/- for it. The children are sure that they can get either their widower father, an eccentric inventor and Naval Commander, Caractacus Potts (Jon Lambert) or their Grandpa Potts (Peter Sydney-Smith) to buy it and restore it.
Lurking in the background is a Laurel and Hardy-like couple of incompetent spies, Boris (Daniel R. Nixon) and Goran (Nicholas Gaynor). They have been sent to England to buy or steal this car, by their Bulgarian boss Baron Bomburst (Joshua Towns), and his miserable wife, Baroness Bomburst (Kim Moore).
However, the Potts family are poor and cannot afford the 30 shillings. A lady passes the group on her three-wheeled motor bike (thanks to Mandurah Scooters) and as it is out-of-tune, Professor Caractacus repairs it for her. The beautiful woman is Truly Scrumptious (Kristie Gray), who on hearing of Caractacus’ financial plight, suggests he should invent a new type of lolly to show Violet (Jo Bickford) and then sell the idea to the local sweet factory that belongs to her wealthy father, Lord Scrumptious (actor ?).
Eventually Caractacus raises the money from a local turkey farmer (Bailey Bridgman-Peters) and the family go to the beach in Chitty to celebrate, but fly much further. After a long flight in Chitty, the Potts family arrive in Bulgaria. When the Baroness, who hates children, hears of their arrival, she employs a Child Catcher (Scott Hansen) to kidnap Jeremy and Jemima. The Baron, who is still a child at heart, has special toys made for him by the royal Toymaker (Rory Ellis). This toymaker confides in Grandpa Potts that there are hundreds of children hiding in the sewers below the city. The children have Toby (Angus Thomson), Greta (Maren Gosby) and Susan (Nicole Cook) looking after them and fighting for their welfare.
Can the Potts family save the day? Is there romance in the air?

Under Musical director David Hicks, assisted by conductor, Vanitha Hart, the orchestra were obviously in their element with such well-known songs as ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, ‘Toot Sweets’ and ‘Truly Scrumptious’. With the help of Rhiannon Francis, the orchestra also created an exciting array of sound effects. The musicians were:- Woodwind players Bec Moroney, Luis Santos, Blake Howieson; Brass – Sascha Todhunter, Harry Josland, Ben Lim, Ned Holland; Double bass – Joshua Cusack; Percussion – Mark Beasy, Sam Bradbury and Keyboard – David Hicks and Mia Brine. The balance of the orchestra was perfect, without any individual instrument overpowering the others.
The dance sequences, choreographed by Ashleigh Riley and Megan Doohan, covered simple styles such as Grandpa Potts swaggering up and down as he sings ‘Posh’, through to the sedate Bulgarian Ball scene and the frenzied Rumba. In every routine the whole ensemble were perfectly in step. The footwork in ‘Me ‘Ol Bam-Boo’ and the arm movements for every song were complex and demanding, and yet I can honestly say that not a single person was out of step or daydreaming. Great work by the choreographers and the whole cast.
Vocal director Kristie Gray has a beautiful and powerful voice, but getting 60 raw recruits to perform well must have been a real challenge for her. The chorus performed magnificently. The Potts family and Truly were in perfect tune and pitch; the final song of the first Act was performed in Chitty as it rose up and tilted, and yet the singers still managed to belt out the number without a single nervous flicker. True professionalism.
The 20-sided, full colour, A4-sized programme, was only $5 and so the audience bought a few copies each for those proud relatives that could not make the show. Well done Kristie Hennessy, Jon Lambert, Rhiannon Francis and Jayden Lyon for the artistic creation.
With 60 performers on stage at a time, the costumiers (Gaynor Cook, Catherine O’Brien, Pat Francis, Kerry Tarbuck, Lisa Clubley, Lisa Hubbard, Karen Chivers, Linda Lowry, Cathy Wainwright, Michaelia Bertram-Hulme and Ashleigh Riley) certainly had their work cut out. The factory workers uniforms, the rumba skirts, the exotic ‘Me ‘Ol Bam-Boo’, the filthy street kids in the sewers, every scene had immaculate design and costume production. Not a single outfit was basic, the trimmings and creative thought was first class.
The car is obviously the centrepiece of the whole tale, and so it was essential that it should be special, stunning and of quality – poor Peter Sydney-Smith (Grandpa Potts) was given the task of designing and building the machine. This was not going to be a cheap project for the producers, but with the generous help of Mandurah Canvas, Battery World and Mandurah Auto Performance, all of the parts from the old-fashioned lamps to the Dickie Seat, the hydraulic hoses and the numerous trims, the car took shape. In the end the car could drive onto the stage, rise from the floor carrying four people, the tyres tilt at 90 degrees, spread its wings, tilt and tip at incredible angles. With the smoke effect under the chassis, the car was well above the clouds. The massive cheer from the audience showed their appreciation for all of the work.
A community show that could leave the professionals embarrassed. Absolute quality.
Do not miss this latest fantastic, magical, family fun show from multi-talented director Karen Francis.

This outstanding, 2 hours 45 minute local production of the Broadway musical is being proudly presented by MPAC and Stray Cats Theatre Company. It can be seen in the 550-seat, beautifully equipped theatre in the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, on the Boardwalk in Mandurah.

The half dozen ‘sold out’ performances finish on Sunday, 24^th May.

The location is Banks’ family home, a big house in Cherry Lane, London in 1900.

There were several demanding sets (designed by Jon Lambert, Brett Morris and Karen Francis), demanding in so much that Mary had to perform her magic (effects by Brad Tudor and Anita Telkamp). The artwork of the scenic backdrops was stunning (Bronwyn White, Aiden Thomas and cast), with Sheryl Gale’s props giving the special finishing touches.

        After losing several nannies, thanks to tykes Jane (Maren Gosby, understudied by Mikayla Wyartt) and Michael (Sebastian Coe), their mother, Mrs Banks (Helen Kerr) is at her wits end and asks her officious husband (Jon Lambert) to advertise for another. Before the letter is even in the post, Mary Poppins (Kristie Gray) with gamp in hand, appears at the Banks’ household.

       Mary Poppins takes the children to the park, where they meet Mrs Lake (Kristie Hennessey), her Scottie dog and chimney sweep, Bert (Daniel R. Nixon). As they watch the children fly their kites, Mary brings a touch of magic by making the statues come alive. When the valuable male statue, Neleus (Jayden Lyon) vanishes, the nervous park-keeper (Christopher Riley) panics.

      Back at the Banks’ home, the dim butler, Robertson (Nicholas Gaynor) is getting his orders for the day, from housekeeper Mrs Brill (Jo Bickford) – he has to bake and ice a cake for a house party that evening. Being urgently called to the bank, by the Chief Cashier (Thomas Hennessey), Mr Banks is certain that his dismissal is near. On the way, he meets the ragged, bird woman (Jeanette Southall) outside St Pauls. She gives Mr Banks a few life messages.

        Mary encourages fortitude in the children in her care, along with all of her friends, by introducing the colourful Mrs Curry (Brad Tudor), Katie Nanna (Monique Kinnest) and Von Hustler (Oliver Clare) as they lead in the singing and dancing of Sherman Brothers’ ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’.

        When Mary leaves the Banks’ home, the daunting, miserable Miss Andrews (Bronwyn White) – who resembles Old Mother Riley – takes over. The children are now in constant fear.

Musical Director, David Hicks (assisted by Joshua Haines) conducted the 12-piece orchestra playing in the pit under the stage, with vigour and sparkle. The crystal voiced, lead singer, Kristie Gray, also had the massive task as Vocal Director to the cast of 50. There is inevitably a couple of the chorus – even leads – who will let a show down with bad singing or lack of focus; here we have a production that is as near perfect as one can get. It was hard to believe that the cast are all locals and not famous, established national talent.

Choreographer, Andrea Beissel had a similar task; with the stage crammed with 40 dancers, it would have been easy to take the lazy way out and have the whole troupe doing the same actions for every number. Instead, Andrea (assisted by Ashleigh Riley, Megan Doohan) gave us a treat, with several complicated routines, flawlessly carried out on the stage simultaneously.  ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ was the piece de resistance, sung with perfect diction, this energy filled, tongue twisting number was performed at breakneck speed. The hundreds of wonderful costumes for the show, were designed by Cathy Wainright and tailored by Pat Francis, Kiara Cassano, Margaret Willison, Hannah Andrews.

Karen Francis is no ordinary director; she gets an ambitious idea and goes for it. Whether it be a play with a difficult story to present, a spicy comedy such as ‘Calendar Girls’, or an adult production like ‘Steaming’; Karen will grab it by the horns and give the audience a show to remember. How does she do it? By the earning the love and admiration of every actor and stage crew with whom she has ever worked.

When Karen decided to present ‘Mary Poppins’ my heart sank a little, this is one of the best loved children’s books and well-known films ever. It has all of the ‘avoid’ factors, children, an animal (bless Toto who was impeccably behaved), special effects, singing and a chorus of around 40 teenagers. Instant suicide. Then there is the cost risk of hiring a large theatre – double suicide! You look at the credits in the programme and find that Karen has also helped manage the production (with Jon Lambert) and is lighting designer, a foolhardy master of all? Not at all, excellent organisational skills.

A couple of small whinges, the odd headset was a little toppy, with the treble too high, giving occasional poor clarity to the dialogue. The fly wires used for the flying sequences were exceptionally thick, but the kids loved the effect, with Mary and Bert moving beautifully.

I know I joke about programmes, but 20 glossy, full-colour, A4 sides for $5 (congrats to Jon Lambert, Jayden Lyon, Kristie Hennessey, Peter and Rhiannon Francis) must be the offer of the year – so every family bought one. I have been to shows with similar programmes at $25 and virtually no one bought one.

The Stray Cats next production in mid-October, is ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ so be warned that after such a magnificent musical as this, the tickets will be gone in hours.

A truly breathtaking, quality show that could easily have run for weeks. This demonstrates what can be done with skill and a great deal of courage. Have you always hankered after trying something new? Be like Karen, GO for it!!

VERY many congratulations to all concerned, I was not at all surprised to see so many members of the enthusiastic audience giving a standing ovation. Spectacular.