Well, back to my original thought - It's a good idea to see what a whole lotta cash can buy. Disney has it and this show flaunts it. The sets (and there are more than I've seen in a long time) are opulent. The fly space (the space above and around the visible stage) in the New Amsterdam seems to be one of the best in the industry - allowing for huge backdrops and sets to come and go effortlessly. There's a doll house cut-away and an upstairs bedroom that alternatively raise and lower along with a rooftop and a park. The actors float around the stage, climb the proscenium, walk upside down and fly out into the audience - all effortlessly and magically.
What else can money buy? Costumes (an endless colorful supply of them); Lights (all sorts of colors and sizes); Special effects (rain, flying birds, stars); and let's not forget the magical effect of Mary and Bert flying all over the place - floating like birds and sliding up the staircase.
Disney money can buy a lot of things that many productions can't afford, but I have to admit, I was transported to #17 Cherry Tree Lane. It does work. But let's not forget - a large cast, a terrific score and the dark interpretation of the P.L Travers stories are also part of the formula of success. Ashley Brown and Gaven Lee certainly do dazzle and delight. They, along with the rest of the cast, really do seem like they are having fun from curtain to curtain. I'd believe it if they told me they all worked for free (OK, well sort of).So, while I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and revel fondly in the memories while perusing my Showbill (what's that all about?) back at home, it does worry me that all those people who saw it (and loved it too, I'm sure) will just expect the next show they see to be bigger and better. How disappointed they will be when they go see Spring Awakening or Grey Gardens and find out there's only one set per act and people don't fly.
What is all that money buying us in the long run?
