Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...But virtually all the other tinkerings by director Richard Eyre, librettist Julian Fellowes and songwriters George Stiles and Anthony Drewe represent downshifts in the story's impact. Even if the goal is something closer to P.L. Travers's original tales, an added attempt at psychological realism becomes burdensome. Particularly ill-conceived is the effort to give the stiff-backed man of the Banks house, Laird Mackintosh's George, a rationale for miserableness rooted in childhood: It was the fault of his own mean nanny, a gorgon named Miss Andrew (Ellen Harvey), who turns up on Cherry Tree Lane chiefly for the purpose of being dispatched by Mary in a ridiculously cruel way."
Washington Examiner - Highly Recommended
"...Under the guidance of award-winning opera director Richard Eyre, the large scale of the musical never gets out of hand, and its most important characters are clearly drawn in this book by Julian Fellowes: the slightly starchy, magical Mary, the artist/chimney sweep Bert, the fussy Mr. Banks (Laird Mackintosh), the frustrated actress Mrs. Banks (Ellen Harvey), and the obstreperous Jane and Michael Banks (nicely played by Bailey Grey and Carter Thomas on opening night)."
Baltimore Sun - Recommended
"...But this version of "Mary Poppins" contains a surefire arsenal of diverting devices practically guaranteed to engage kids and keep adults from squirming. It's easy to see why it proved to be such a hit in London when it premiered in 2004 and again, two years later, when it arrived on Broadway, where it's still going strong."
MetroWeekly - Highly Recommended
"...What makes this musical such a wonderful distraction is that while it certainly doesn't abandon the warm and fuzzy message about priorities that may cause some young audience members to eye the parent who spends intermission working their iPod with some contempt, it knows how to create a spectacle. A spoonful of sugar does, after all, help the medicine go down."
Washingtonian - Highly Recommended
"...But the Disney magic prevails, particularly in the second half when a visually stunning “Step in Time” rivals the digital artistry of the movie. Bert (played with cocky bravado by the role’s originator, Gavin Black Lee) even climbs up the proscenium and tap dances, upside down, along the ceiling. Plus, there are flashy dance numbers galore and more than enough tricks to satisfy Disney nostalgists—a recent audience audibly cooed in wonder when Mary Poppins pulled a six-foot lamp out of her carpet bag. And they were mostly adults."
Fairfax Times - Highly Recommended
"...With a superb score and story line, the production will capture your heart, especially with a dazzling moment when the wondrous nanny flies out above the audience itself in one head-turning, eye-popping finale."
Washington Blade - Recommended
"...Certainly, almost everyone can appreciate the show’s instantly recognizable songs from the movie score by the Academy Award-winning Sherman brothers including “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” George Stiles and Anthony Drewe have added additional lyrics and music to the originals, and also contributed seven compatible and fairly memorable new tunes of their own to the show."
DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended
Mary Poppins, now running at the Kennedy Center Opera House, still has that same old magic: eye- popping visuals, toe-tapping tunes, and fabulous, colorful production numbers that make you wish the curtain would never come down.