Review: Maija Poppanen

Maija Poppanen’s magic bites

And at the end, it flies into the stands! After all, that’s also one way to end a musical.

In addition to the flying machine, Maija Poppins at the Helsinki City Theatre naturally has the rest of the machinery on the big stage at its disposal.

And it is used well. An 11-year-old fellow viewer of mine announced after the end of the “pig good” performance that he wanted to become an actor. It is still being discussed at home, but it is also the case that the approaches of Tuukka Leppänen and Emmi Kangas, who play the main roles, are good enough for those intending to enter the industry.

Greetings from the 1800s

Mary Poppins, which premiered in London in 2004, is pure Disney both in terms of story and execution: the story that embraces worlds is interspersed with a suitable amount of magic, symbolism and faith in humans. However, Poppins is not a Disney invention, as British author P.L. Travers delighted children with his character already in the 1930s.
If you think about it a little more closely, Travers’ children’s book series can be seen as borrowing from the 19th century British children’s book tradition. It has linguistic nonsense like Edward Lear and functional mystery like Lewis Carroll. The setting is also familiar from many stories from the 19th century: the everyday life of an upper-class family is turned upside down when a headstrong nanny, Maija Poppins, enters the house.

On the other hand, Poppa does not need to rationalize too much, as the performance follows the children’s grammar. You either have to go into it with your senses open or stay boringly outside the magic circle.

Exemplary Finnish translation

In its dramatic essence, Poppins is a “whim drama” or fairy tale. Within the genre, it’s almost acceptable that the characters pop onto the scene out of nowhere and the action sometimes goes off the rails.
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Translator Mikko Koivusalo’s biggest challenge has probably been the famous word supercalifragilisticexpialidocius, which is used in the musical’s most famous song. Koivusalo has survived in an exemplary manner: the super poplar biscuit rally retains the same rhythm as the original word monster.

The other hit song, A Spoonful of Sugar, has also been translated into natural Finnish.

The interpretations of the orchestra, led by conductor Kristian Nyman, were swinging in such a good mood that the audience spontaneously joined in to applaud in several songs.

A mysterious couple

Emmi Kangas’s Poppins is suitably restrained to create and maintain an atmosphere of mystery. Behind the charming smile hides a secret: no one really knows which Poppins, who descended from heaven with an umbrella, is one of his women.

Tuukka Leppänen’s jovial sooty scoundrel Perttu is a more direct type, but what makes him mysterious is his inexplicable relationship with Poppanen. In the role, Leppänen gets to showcase not only his excellent singing voice but also his tap dancing skills.

The children’s roles in the musical are exceptional, as Anna and Mikko Pankki (Nelli Matula and Akseli Ferrand in the premiere) are on stage from start to finish. At least I don’t remember such a successful child acting: the speech was very clear even at the back of the balcony.

At least in part, the points go to Lahti, as Laura Peltoniemi, who was responsible for directing the children, is one of the local young theatre makers.

The Patriarch and the Little Wife

Eero Saarinen plays a heartfelt role as Patriarch Yrjö Bank, who is forced to reconsider his life values when his job threatens to leave him. Tove Wingren is his “little wife” Vilma, who at least finally gets to show that even Victorian women can’t be walked over.

Riitta Havukainen gets the dubious honour of popping back on stage in the role of the evil dragon, but Havukainen certainly takes care of her creepy nanny Anttonen with devotion.

Katariina Kirjavainen’s set design has just the right amount of sparkle, functionality and London’s dim rooftops with chimneys.