Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"... as tours go these days, "Mary Poppins" remains a top-tier attraction, replete with that requisite full Equity cast, a sizable orchestra and a more-than-ample production (long ago, directed by Richard Eyre) that not only delivers many pleasures, but it is beautifully focused on allowing a family to come to a show together and leave believing that they all have enjoyed, and learned something, together."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...The show seesaws between light musical numbers and darkly glum domestic scenes. It’s a bit whiplash inducing. Not that the children in the audience mind. They were riveted during the mostly enchanting (the “living statue” scene is just plain creepy) musical numbers performed by a top-notch cast of performers."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Though the spectacle, dance, and singing give good value, most of the wit of P.L. Travers's Poppins books--based on delight in nonsense--has been excised. And five new songs render the show even less faithful. "Being Mrs. Banks" highlights the parents' relationship, and the empty "Anything Can Happen" is nothing more than an upbeat vehicle for a huge production number. The barbs of the books' tart, disapproving, wildly imaginative, and funny nanny have been replaced with the ho-hum psychology of an ordinary family."
Examiner - Highly Recommended
"... Mary Poppins is a rare breed indeed, and not just because she can fly under the power of an umbrella. The Disney musical based on the marvelous books by P. L. Travers is a marvel for children to be sure, but it’s also just as entertaining for adults. You’re more than willing to forgive it for toning down (way down) the darker elements of Travers’ stories simply because it’s so infectiously joyous. And if you think Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a silly song? Well so it is. But it’s also a barn-burner of a showstopper in Matthew Bourne’s choreography, a production number that will leave you utterly gleeful."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"... The fabulous “Step in Time” show-stopping tapnumber will boggle your senses as will the manic “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” Mary Poppins is a sweet, colorful and totally pleasanttheatrical experiencethatkids and adults will be able to share as “greatentertainment.”Itonly runs until November 6, 2011, so get your tickets now."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"... Among the numerous changes Fellowes has ordered, Mrs. Banks is no longer a suffragate fighting for something she believes in, but a bored socialite with an emotionally chilly husband. We see the reason that Mr. Banks is more preoccupied with figures and balances was the result of his own neglected childhood, and the product of the monstrous nanny Miss Andrew. Statues come to life in the park, angry toys stake their revenge on Jane and Michael, and Mary reminds us musically about a couple hundred times that she is practically perfect. Julie Andrews only had to tell us once and we believed her. None of this is likely to bother the multitudes anxious to spend their entertainment dollar on ostensibly live recreations of familiar titles they know and love."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"... An evil nanny, dancing statues, gingerbread stars, this MARY POPPINS has more songs, more backstories, and more magic than the 1964 film. (Sorry, Dick & Julie!) The only hexing element of this production is some faulty microphones on opening night especially with the kids. The kids’ delivery of tantrum-esque lines are hard to completely comprehend. In addition, Mr. Northbrook’s mic was not working at all. Technology can be its own black magic. Still, to all kids, young and old, this MARY POPPINS is a supernatural spectacle to experience before it blows out of Chicago."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"... The story is a classic. A father to busy working to spend time with his family, so a Nanny is hired. In fact, many are hired , each leaving due to the treatment from the children, who want to be a family. The father was somewhat raised with a Nanny and is under the impression that if you do not live this way, others will not respect you. Mary Poppins blows into town to help bring this family back to where they should be-a family, loving and caring. It is sweet, almost saccharin, but the point does get through and in today’s world, one where many couples do not spend enough quality time with their kids, perhaps seeing this will open their eyes and Mary Poppins can bring some of the magic back into their lives."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"... Yep, it’s time for Chicago to swallow some helping spoonfuls of sugar: Disney’s aggressively buoyant movie musicalization soars into Chicago with Cameron Mackintosh’s all-singing, all-dancing tribute to P.J. Travers’ wonder-working Victorian nanny. Upright to uptight, the desiccated Banks household is the scene of a transformation very similar to what Peter Pan does for the Darling mansion just down the street or what a little girl from India does to a similarly frozen world when she discovers a “secret garden.”"