Review: Maija Poppanen
Mary Poppins entertains in Disney style
Musical theatre now has an unusually rich offering for young people
This summer, young people and young minds have been offered the 1960s rock musical Tommy at Linnamäki’s Peacock and the sequel to last season’s successful High School Musical at the Savoy Theatre.
The Helsinki City Theatre brought Mary Poppins , also known from the Disney film that also gained world fame in the 1960s and won five Oscars, to families with children and the child-minded.
The world premiere of the musical was at the Prince Edward Theatre in London in December 2004. The story of P.L. Travers , about a mysterious nanny, originates from the early 1930s and takes place in London in the early 1900s.
Helsinki City Theatre’s Maija Poppins is closely related to the film made on the same subject. The direction has also been bound by a far-reaching performance permit.
However, this does not take away the merits of the Finnish version of Maija Poppanen. With Finnish efforts, an international-level production has been created, with Emmi Kangas as Maija Poppins and Tuukka Leppänen as Perttu in the lead roles. The film starred Julie Andrews and Dick van.
Kangas and Perttula shine in their roles, which are as if made for them. Nelli Matula and Akseli Ferrand , who appeared in the premiere as Anna and Mikko, were not overshadowed by them. Also brilliant were Tove Wingren , who performed as Vilma Bank, and Riitta Havukainen, who was awarded for her musical theatre merits last year and now performs as Miss Anttonen.
Special attention should be paid to the choreography and the execution of the songs. There is foreign help in the background, as the choreographer has been Rebecca Evanna and the music expert is Nick Davies.
In recent years, we have heard several times that the best musical theatre in the Nordic countries is performed in Finland and Helsinki. The quality of the performances as well as the performers is high and at the same time also extensive. Emmi Kangas is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and has performed extensively in different places. She is remembered for her role as Beatrice in last year’s musical Rebecca.
Leppänen is known as Melcior Gabor in the City Theatre’s Spring Awakining and Rebecca’s Jack Favel, among others. Before this, she has toured many musical theatre performances in different productions.
Now it seems that the offspring are already maturing. Maija Poppanen’s Anna and Mikko are played by a total of four girls and four boys. High School Musical and Tommy have also provided plenty of opportunities for new talent.