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Edmonton students bring ‘Mary Poppins’ to life onstage and on the page

Click to play video: 'Edmonton students bring ‘Mary Poppins’ to life on stage and on the page'
Edmonton students bring ‘Mary Poppins’ to life on stage and on the page
WATCH ABOVE: Morgan Black tells us how a local production of "Mary Poppins" is both delighting and educating its audience. – Nov 27, 2019

Victoria School of the Arts’ production of a beloved classic is encouraging its younger audience to fall in love with the original version of the story.

Junior high and high school students compose the cast, crew and orchestra of Mary Poppins, who have all been working diligently for the past two months to get show ready.

Grade 12 student Skylar Campbell plays Bert in the performance. In between rehearsals four days a week, he and other cast members spent time reading to elementary students at school.

“I read to a Grade Four and kindergarten class. It was super amazing to see them get so excited just off the pages from the book. The anticipation I saw in all of them that they get to [see the show]. They had all kinds of questions about the magic,” Campbell said. “A show like this is perfect for them.”

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Director and choreographer Natalie Witte said it was important to incorporate a celebration of reading in the venture.

“Our school has a big focus on literacy,” Witte said. “I think it’s interesting because as a K-12 school we can see what happens in the older grades if they haven’t been exposed to good reading techniques and a wide variety of literature and good quality stories. It really highlights the things we believe in as a school.

Campbell said he could tell kids were getting excited about reading the book before seeing the play.

“Then, [they could] be curious about the differences between the movie, the book and the musical. There’s so many different iterations. [For the kids] to see where it began with the words, they were definitely inspired to be more curious about what was on the pages before it was on the screen.”

Grade four student Rhys Merrick said he’s a big reader at home.

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“I read pretty much every night,” Merrick said. “[This story] is about Mary Poppins and her adventures. There’s a lot different from the book. They didn’t mention some of the characters!”

Alice Anderson, a kindergarten student, explained what makes Mary Poppins so appealing.

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“Mary Poppins is magical and the play is going to be magical. People are going to try their hardest and make the show happen.”

Anderson said it’s “cool” that older students are in the performance.

“I love plays, but I [am too young] to be in the play. I know how to tap dance. When I’m older I’ll be in the play and be Mary Poppins,” Anderson said. “It would be fun. Everybody gets to act and make the show realistic. When Mary Poppins the show happens, it just seems like magic.”
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“We love to choose plays that have a literary reference that students can study in class. That could be Romeo and Juliet or Big Fish. This year, it was a natural fit for our K-12 environment. Our younger students can enjoy it as audience members and readers.

Witte said when the younger students saw a matinee version of the show, they were elated.

WATCH: A high school musical running at Victoria School this weekend received some help from a broadway heavy hitter. The show is doing much more than educating students about musical theatre. Margeaux Maron reports.

Click to play video: 'Broadway star helps Edmonton students with high school musical'
Broadway star helps Edmonton students with high school musical

“It was exciting to see the story come to life, but also see their new friends on stage. They were singing along at a matinee. It was lovely to watch.”

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Shows run from Thursday through Saturday. You can find a full list of shows here.

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