The magic still works

MANILA, Philippines - Mary Poppins the musicale, was a show that, unlike other musicales (for which I would sacrifice a new Mango dress or a fabulous pair of Zara stiletto shoes), I was not too keen on watching. I am such a Dame Julie Andrews loyalist, for me there could be no other Mary Poppins but her. I loved Julie so much in the movie, I grew up believing the sugar I so avoid very much today really could make those eeky medicines go down (hahaha!). I dreamed of having a magician yaya like her. I even slept with my favorite umbrella for a few months wishing that even in my dreams I could fly like Mary. And who would want to watch a children’s show at my age? But the tickets to the musicale were gifts of my brother-in-law Sonny and wife Vicky (meaning they were totally free), and we were to watch as a family. Being the dutiful in-law, I told myself — hmmm, or more of — ho-hum, okay…won’t lose anything anyway.

First big surprise…the Ahmanson Theater in L.A. was filled to the brim when I was, oh, so wickedly thinking it would be a smattering of empty seats, expecting it to be a boring and uninteresting children’s show only people like us who got free tickets would see. Nope, the people in the audience, unlike my husband and me, all seemed to have paid for their tickets. Unbelievable!

Next big surprise: The play was quite good and enjoyable. Of course, one who had seen the movie and loved it will find some things lost and some things new. Some characters were even killed off or added. But had the changes not been for the better, I would have spent the whole three hours dozing off, as it was just the day after we arrived from the Philippines over a sleepless-because-of-work flight. Instead of nodding off from jetlag and weariness from the trip, I found myself really, oh yes really, entertained.

Mary Poppins’ story is a classic every man, woman and child should know whether it be by reading the book, watching the movie or seeing the musicale. It reminds us parents, especially the fathers, that money and work should never be the reason for living and that there are more important things in life like your family and doing things you really enjoy doing…like flying a kite. It teaches us to learn how to express ourselves, say what we want to say especially if it is expressing our love for our family. In the area of child care (listen, moms), it imparts the lesson that every once in a while we should have magic in the air to catch the attention of our hyperactive or non-attentive children. And magic simply means having fun!

The sets were wonderful, costumes were most appropriate of its milieu, and my favorite songs were still there. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (the longest word in the dictionary — hey you should know that!) left us all humming all the way home.

And guess what? From start to end, I didn’t even miss Julie. The movie may have belonged to my dear Julie but the star of the musicale, Ashley Brown, did very well, doing all her songs with amazing musicality, gliding from one note to the next with professional ease, and acting and dancing with aplomb. Her Spoonful of Sugar rendition, of course, made us older ones sing along, rekindling childhood memories of the song (and the eeky medicines, hahaha!) while the kids in the audience laughed at her funny lines and ooh-ed and ahh-ed when she made those magic tricks. Yes, she gave justice to the role of Mary Poppins and I am quite sure Julie would have been very proud of her. Best of all, she was so nice when she autographed my souvenir program backstage, acting as if she were an ordinary mortal, walking along just with her dog all by herself with no coterie of assistants. She was in the simplest shirt and pair of pants. Such humility and simplicity was truly magical.

(E-mail author at [email protected] or text 0927-5000833. Help build houses for the poor through the Gawad Kalinga by calling 718-1738 to 41 or text 0917-5239777)