Mary Poppins Flies Away from BHS

By Matilda Kreider

It seems like just yesterday the cast and crews began work on the spring musical “Mary Poppins” in January, but the show has now concluded its run.   This whirlwind weekend, in which “Mary Poppins” had six performances- including two on Saturday- left the cast and crews wiped out but exhilarated. The show was directed by Toni Cartisano, musically directed and choreographed by choir director Mrs. Roding, and produced by

Barb Barringham. Around sixty BHS students were in the cast and twenty or so more worked on the crews. As usual, the BHS musical brought big crowds to their feet. As usual, the BHS musical brought big crowds to their feet. This year brought big tap numbers like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and “Step in Time,” as well as with other favorites like “Jolly Holiday,” “Spoonful of Sugar,” “Chim Chiminey,” “Anything Can Happen,” and “Feed the Birds.” Notable students included: senior Marissa Smoker (Mary Poppins), junior Jack Nelson (Bert), senior Maddie McGann (Jane Banks), sophomore Michael Hoadley (Michael Banks),

junior Andrew Salerno (George Banks), senior Lily Kirby (Winifred Banks), senior Cara Delucia (Bird Woman/Miss Andrews), senior Kim Klarman (Mrs. Brill), and senior Hunter Izzo (Robertson Ay). Other seniors in the cast were Gill Basilicato, Alyssa Sachs (Katie Nanna, dance captain), Travis Johnson (Von Hussler), Jill McGuire, Chris Altavilla (Admiral Boom), Sam Coleman, Max Peters (John Northbrook), Stephen Hoadley, and Shannon Finn (dance captain). Other important students were junior Jared Moore (stage manager), junior Sarah Fadel (assistant stage manager), senior Casey Cunningham (props manager), senior Jared McAnern (lighting chief), senior Ilya Shavrov (lead sound engineer), senior Remi Steinhardt (student leader of makeup crew), and senior Abby Atkinson (student leader of costume crew). In a recent Instagram post, Lily Kirby, who played Winifred Banks, wrote, “So proud of the magic we created, so grateful to have been able to share it!”

The show was especially significant to Marissa Smoker, who, in seventh grade, had performed 99 shows on the “Mary Poppins” national tour as Jane Banks. The opening night of “Mary Poppins” at BHS was her 100th show- this time as Mary Poppins herself. It was sad for the seniors to say goodbye to four years of amazing shows, but we know there are great things in their futures. And you’ll see the rest of the cast back on stage next year with another production! If you missed the show or want to check out more of these beautiful pictures, head over to http://www.bpantaniphoto.com!