Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...The show also is still in search of an idea that fits its space. For sure, and in all fairness, this is a very big show for such a small theater. Much stellar work is done to give the audience a full-blown "Mary Poppins" (flying, and all), and on Friday night, people seemed to appreciate a family musical with this level of ambition and caliber of performers, right in their neighborhood and for an affordable price. So stipulated. Furthermore, the singing is mostly very strong (Eugene Dizon is the musical director) and the whole endeavor is very much alive and determined to please."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...As brisk and self-assured as the "practically perfect" nanny of its title - a woman who knows just when a family needs her services most, and just when it is time to grab her carpetbag and umbrella and fly off to another assignment - Mercury Theater Chicago's production of "Mary Poppins" moves like the wind."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Here's a version of Mary Poppins that will frustrate both purist fans of the stories by P.L.Travers and those of us for whom the glorious 1964 Disney film was a defining experience. The show, cocreated by Cameron Mcintosh (the man who brought us Cats) and revived by the Mercury Theater Chicago, combines elements and characters from both the books and the movie (which Travers famously did not like) to create an awkward, overly long hybrid filled with both the wonderful old tunes by the Sherman brothers and less wonderful new ones by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. T"
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Exuberant as these hijinks look and feel, they neatly fit the formula enshrined in The Rainmaker, The Music Man, and Hello, Dolly: A mysterious to mystical stranger enters a closed and cold world—and alters everything but herself. M.P. and her tough love is a dogged puncture of pomposity and a relentless instigator of happiness and hope. Get out of her way if you know what’s good for you!"
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...You’ll thrill to the zest of this production as Mary Poppins and Bert lead the Banks family on a magical adventure. The wonderful material is in good hands here. See this show (and bring the kids!)"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The Mercury Theater of Chicago is in fact a “gem” of a place to view a play. It is a very intimate space and under the direction of L. Walter Stearns, a man who understands using a small space for “large” productions, it works. When I saw their season included “Mary Poppins”, I thought, “how?”. This is a small stage with very little space! Today, I saw what this sterling director was able to do with a small stage and a uniquely small ensemble of players who appear to be far larger in numbers than they are. They zip on an doff stage, changing costumes and characters with great speed and amazingly never missed a cue. Bravo to the most important people of any musical production- the ensemble/chorus members who play all the smaller roles, do all the chorus songs and dance their hearts out to make the show whole!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Magical, soaring through the air, bursting with color and spectacle and full of delightful characters, catchy tunes and impressive choreography, brought to the stage by a talented 18-member cast, this "Jolly Holiday" with Mary and her friends is "Practically Perfect." With inventive scenic design by Adam Veness, gorgeous costumes by Rachel Boylan, wigs and hair designed by Kevin Barthel, this show is just what we need these days to remind us of the tremendous joy that a great theatrical production can provide for all ages."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...“Mary Poppins” is the best family show in town, thanks to Stearns’s stellar direction and the undeniable merits of the show itself at its best. I will best remember McKillip for elevating George Banks into a virtual co-star with the title character. The best musical numbers are a joy and the production values throughout suggest a production budget with very deep pockets, every dollar well spent. The next show up at the Mercury will be a summer revival of “Hair,” a considerable shift in thematic gears. I can hardly wait."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...The newest, and among the brightest, in Director J. Walter Stearns' wonderful constellation is Nicole Armold. Already carving out a name for herself at Chicago Shakespeare (Ride the Cyclone and Sense and Sensability), Lifeline Theatre (Northanger Abbey) and Light Opera Works (The Merry Widow), Armold creates a snorting Poppins of her very own who delights both veteran and first-time visitors to Cherry Tree Lane."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...Director L. Walter Stearns's production finds inventive ways of making the medicine go down on his small stage, so that we don't even mind so much when we can see the turning gears (or black-clad puppeteers) behind the bells and whistles. Yet with musical vamps to cover scene changes underlining the multiple reprises that padded out the stage time even in the flashier London and Broadway productions, Mercury's staging highlights the sitcommy rhythms of the book by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey). Still, with nostalgic charms for the grown-ups, Armold as ringleader and strong character turns by the likes of Matt Crowle, Holly Stauder and Leah Morrow, Mercury's Mary Poppins is a decent (and pretty decently priced) family musical for the non-holiday season."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Perhaps this is also the reason that the utter lack of subtlety in the portrayal of character makes the overall rendering cartoonish and flat. It is difficult not to be entertained but unfortunately just as easy not to be transported, notwithstanding the valiant efforts of the actors, especially Matt Crowle in the part of Cockney-voiced jack-of-all-trades charmer Bert and the talented Casey Lyons, who brings genuine life to Michael Banks."
