Review: Magical 'Mary Poppins' has some tricks up her sleeve

Welcome to the outsized magic of Disney's "Mary Poppins," the Broadway musical that captures the imagination and can convince the most skeptical among us to suspend our disbelief even for one night.

The show, here through the weekend with Broadway In Tucson, is larger than life, with sets sliding back and forth to create the Banks' family living room, a depressingly mechanical bank with towering ceilings and a tree-lined city park that turns in a blink of the eye into a technicolor wonderland.

Mary Poppins (Rachel Wallace in a performance that earned her a thundering standing ovation) is a nanny, but not like the reality TV nanny dispensing tough love on parents and children alike. She doles out spoons of sugar-laden elixir that transforms her unruly charges into obedient, curious and suddenly caring children. Give a chug of the medicine bottle to mom and her insecurities begin to fade.

There's dancing — including the scene-stealing ceiling tap dance by Bert (Case Dillard), the affable chimney sweep — and glorious singing. The ensemble cast showed off some wonderful chops, including Wallace and Q. Smith, who was double-cast as the stern fill-in nanny Miss Andrew and the alternately compassionate and tender Bird Woman. As the nanny, she blasted a bluesy, soulful alto; as the Bird Woman, her voice was quietly melodic.

In the pit, the 17-member orchestra — which included a dozen players from Tucson — kept everything on pace. They were pretty wonderful.

This is a show that delivers on its advertised promise: It's family entertainment that will delight young and old. At Wednesday's opening night, the audience of about 1,600 included a healthy representation of very young kids, including some who looked to be in kindergarten or preschool. Judging from their applause and squeals of delight, the kiddos had no problem sitting through the nearly three-hour performance.

"Mary Poppins" continues through Sunday. Click here for ticket information.