Word: luker
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...essentials are still here: the fractured London household, with pompous father George Banks (Daniel Jenkins), mother Winifred (perennial Broadway luminary Rebecca Luker) and two rambunctious children, Jane and Michael (played by three pairs of kids); the hiring of the uncanny nanny Mary Poppins (Ashley Brown); the narration by Mary's friend, Bert the chimneysweep (Gavin Lee); the rooftop dance of Bert and his proletarian pals; and most of Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman's hit score. Eight of the Shermans' 14 songs (including "Chim Chim Cher-ee," "A Spoonful of Sugar," and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") have been retained; George Stiles...
...plane, bringing their fresh faces, strong voices and quixotic aspirations to the Mecca of musical theater. We happen to be blessed, at the moment, with a bounty of song-show talent. It heartens me that artists like Mitchell, Debbie Gravitte, Martin Short, Faith Prince, Judy Kuhn, Rebecca Luker, Murphy and Chenoweth (all veterans of Encores!) have devoted themselves to singing the grand old Broadway songs; and it depresses me that there's so little terrific new work they can devote themselves...
...Here are a few more Encores! epiphanies to recall with a shivery thrill... The giddy glissandi of the "Sing for Your Supper" trio (Gravitte, Luker and Sarah Uriarte Berry) from "The Boys from Syracuse"... Kuhn, an angel lost in hell, turning a 2684-seat theater into a confessional when she performs "The Man I Love" from "Strike Up the Band"... Ruthie Henshell, beautifully torching the ballad "Words Without Music" from "Ziegfeld Follies of 1936"... The second-act overture to "Babes in Arms," when the orchestra began playing "Where or When" and the audience joined in, dreamily humming along and swaying...
...suppose one might ask to whom such things matter. Well, there is an obvious answer—to me! In selecting the last examples, I am still concentrating on those I chose not to include, doting on comparisons between Rebecca Luker and Julie Andrews, between Terrence Mann and Philip Quast and between Brian Stokes Mitchell, Richard Kiley and Howard Keel...
...constant struggle not to mimic Robert Preston's performance in the original production and the film, Craig Bierko is a reasonably charismatic leading man. What his renditions of the classic songs 'Trouble' and '76 Trombones' lack in depth character, they more than make up for in energy. Rebecca Luker delivers a surprisingly arresting performance as Marian the Librarian, and her voice remains rich and beautiful. The choreography, too, is largely enjoyable to watch, though it certainly doesn't break with any conventions. Unfortunately, a few concrete and probably financially-motivated decisions put a damper on the proceedings and prevent...