Tidy your rooms, ‘Mary Poppins’ is here

During a recent tech rehearsal, a strange low hum emanated from the seats where the cast of Quintessence Theatre Group’s production of Mary Poppins was taking a break.

It took Hanna Gaffney, the actor playing Mary Poppins, a while to figure out what it was. Turned out it was her fellow actors unknowingly humming snatches of the song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius” to themselves under their breath.

“That’s a real earworm for me,” she said with a laugh. And she wasn’t alone. “Any Mary Poppins song can get stuck in your head,” she said, citing her favorite, “Feed the Birds,” and others, “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “A Spoonful of Sugar.”

Gaffney said she was 5 when she first encountered Disney’s Mary Poppins on VHS. The Julie Andrews-led film was one of the few movies her parents owned on tape, so she and her sister watched it endlessly. Only when it came time to prepare for her role at Quintessence did she crack open the 1934 novel by P.L. Travers, the first in a series about the British nanny with magical powers.

Travers’ Mary Poppins “is a lot meaner than Julie Andrews — that’s for sure,” said Gaffney.

Gaffney’s Poppins is somewhere in the middle, realizing that the children in today’s audiences might be frightened by Poppins’ stricter side (as portrayed by Travers) without appreciating the nanny’s fierce protectiveness. Gaffney, who has worked as a nanny, said she wished she had had some of the magical abilities bestowed on her British counterpart.

“I would have liked to be able to transport my children to a magical world,” she said. But, as it was, “I had to be more entertaining. I had to be deep in the play with the kids in order to get us all to have fun. Mary Poppins would never be wrestling on the ground or pretending to be a pony.”

The stage version of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins was reconceived by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and retains the score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Emily Trask directs.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 31, “Mary Poppins,” Quintessence Theatre Group, Sedgwick Theater, 7137 Germantown Ave., Phila. 215-987-4450 or quintessencetheatre.org)

Speaking of Mary, the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester presents a different and hilarious version of the story of Christmas. Yes, Mary gets visited by an angel bearing the glad tidings that she is about to become a mother. But motherhood is definitely not in Mary’s life plan and it doesn’t help that the butterfingers angel fumbles its way through the announcement. There’s more and the general vibe is best conveyed by the title — The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut, and the Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols in a Pear Tree. Obviously, the facts are different from the original, but the spirit of joy is never lost. Domenick Scudera directs.

(Nov. 23-Dec. 23, “The Butterfingers Angel,” Uptown, 226 N. High St., West Chester, 610-356-2787 or uptownwestchester.org)

Speaking of Christmas, the Delaware Theatre Co. offers Plaid Tidings: A Special Holiday Edition of Forever Plaid. This off-Broadway musical combines holiday favorites with popular tunes from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Directed by Matt Silva with vocal and musical arrangements by James Raitt, Brad Ellis, Raymond Berg, and David Snyder.

(Nov. 30-Dec. 18, “Plaid Tidings,” Delaware Theatre Co., 200 Water St., Wilmington, 302-594-1100 or delawaretheatre.org)

Cosponsored by the Caribbean community in Philadelphia, Miss Bomba Claudie, The Jamaican Talk Show Host promises a night of hilarity and suspense. Miss Bomba Claudie, a 65-year-old Jamaican woman, receives a corporate sponsorship to do a live women’s advice talk show on the internet. But her temper and aggressive way of giving advice is putting her in peril of losing her sponsorship. Will she be able to save her show? From Bomba Fire Productions. Steven Williams is the writer.

(Dec. 2-11, “Miss Bomba Claudie, The Jamaican Talk Show Host” by Bomba Fire Productions at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Phila. bombafireproductions.com)

If you are looking for something light and lovely, perhaps a romantic musical, She Loves Me at Haddon Township’s Ritz Theatre, may fit the bill. It is based on the play Mikos Lazlos’ Parfuemerie, which inspired the film, You’ve Got Mail. Directed by Roberta Curless.

(Dec. 2-18, “She Loves Me,” Ritz Theatre Co., 915 White Horse Pike, Haddon Twp., 856-288-3500 or ritztheatreco.org)

Nöel Hanley directs Allens Lane Art Center’s production of Little Women. Gear up to meet the March sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy — who chart their journey from adolescence to adulthood.

(Dec. 2-18, “Little Women,” Allens Lane Art Center, 601 W. Allens Lane, Phila. 215-248-0546 or allenslane.org)

Bucks County Playhouse has a fun problem — it owns way too many boots acquired for its summer production of Kinky Boots. That’s why it is offering them for sale on Dec. 3 when it opens its costume department to the public for four hours.

The Playhouse Costume Clearance (Holiday Edition) will include gently-used outfits worn by actors and brand-new apparel purchased to use as costumes, but which never made it to stage.

(Dec. 3, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., costume sale, Bucks County Playhouse, 70 S. Main St., New Hope, 215-862-2121 or bcptheater.org)

Check with individual venues for COVID-19 protocols.