Though some of the dance steps and adventures may have changed since you saw the Disney version, one very important aspect remains constant. Mary Poppins is still an enigma — an ever-dazzling, yet mysterious, English nanny.
“Mary is a very interesting character to try and tackle,” says Steffanie Leigh, who plays the title role. “You can’t really put your thumb on her, exactly.”
Nobody knows where Mary Poppins came from, or where she’s going. We do know that she can fly, pull hat stands out of her carpetbag and fix families.
“I’ve really found through playing her that she has this incredible heart and sense of generosity,” explains Leigh. “Along with that heart, she has this whippersnapper exterior. She loves herself a lot, which in some ways can turn people off. But when Mary does it, she’s just so truthful. She’s practically perfect.”
