The Various Mediums of Mary Poppins

BOOKS

The Mary Poppins musical was adapted from the first three of the eight books in P.L. Travers's series

 

Mary Poppins, published 1934

The first book introduces the Banks family from Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Banks; their children Jane and Michael; and baby twins John and Barbara. When the children's nanny, Katie Nana, storms out in a huff, Mary Poppins arrives at their home, complete with her traveling carpetbag, blown in by a very strong wind. She accepts the job, and the children soon learn that their nanny, though she is stern, vain, and usually cross, has a magical touch that makes her wonderful. Among the things Jane and Michael experience are a tea party on a ceiling with Mr. Wigg, a trip around the world with a compass, the purchase of gingerbread stars from the extremely old Mrs. Corry, a meeting with the Bird Woman, a birthday party at the zoo among the animals, and a Christmas shopping trip with a star named Mafia from the Pleiades of the Taurus constellation. In the end, Mary Poppins is satisfied with the work she has done with the Banks family, and the West Wind carries her away. 

Original and revised versions of the "Bad Tuesday" chapter

Mary Poppins contained a version of the chapter "Bad Tuesday" in which Mary and the children use a compass to visit places all over the world in a remarkably short period of time. The original story in the 1934 edition contained a variety of cultural and ethnic types of Chinese, Eskimo, sub-Saharan Africans, and Native Americans; Travers responded to criticism that the picture given was too simple by revising the chapter in 1981 to include animal representatives instead of people. At the same time, original illustrator Mary Shepard altered the accompanying drawing of the compass to show a polar bear at the north, a macaw at the south, a panda at the east, and a dolphin at the west.

Mary Poppins Comes Back, published 1935

Nothing has been right since Mary Poppins left Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane. One day, when Mrs. Banks sends the children out to the park, Michael flies his kite up into the clouds. Everyone is surprised when it comes down bringing Mary Poppins as a passenger, who returns to the Banks home and takes charge of the children once again. This time, Jane and Michael meet the fearsome Miss Andrew, experience an upside-down tea party, and visit a circus in the sky. As in Mary Poppins, Mary leaves at the end, but this time with a "return ticket, just in case" she needs to return.

Mary Poppins Opens the Door, published 1943

When Mary last left the Banks children in Cherry Tree Lane, she took a "return ticket, just in case." In the third book, she returns to the park in front of Cherry Tree Lane the way she came, falling with fireworks. Once again she takes up nanny duties in the Banks household and leads Jane, Michael, John, and Barbara on various adventures. This time, they visit her cousin Fred Twigley, befriend a statue that has come to life, go riding on peppermint horses, and experience a garden party under the sea.

Mary Poppins in the Park, published 1952

This fourth book contains six adventures of the Banks children with Mary Poppins during their outings in the park along Cherry Tree Lane. Chronologically the events in this book occurred during the second or third book (Mary Poppins Comes Back and Mary Poppins Opens the Door respectively). Among the adventures they experience are a tea party with the people who live under the dandelions, a visit to cats on a different planet, and a Halloween dance party with their shadows.

Mary Poppins From A to Z, published 1962

Twenty-six vignettes (one for each letter of the alphabet) weave unexpected tales of Mary Poppins, the Banks children, and other characters from Travers's previous novels. Each vignette is filled with fun and unusual words that start with the featured letter.

Mary Poppins in the Kitchen, published 1975

Mary Poppins comes to the rescue when the Banks's family cook has to go on an unexpected leave, teaching the young Banks children the basics of cooking in the process. The book includes recipes.

Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane, published 1982

Mary Poppins takes the Banks children on yet another memorable adventure, this time on the magical Midsummer's Eve. All kinds of strange things can happen, and even mythical figures can descend from the heavens. At the back of the book is a list of the herbs that are mentioned in the story, with their botanical, local and Latin names.

Mary Poppins and the House Next Door, published 1988

The residents of Cherry Tree Lane are distressed to learn that their beloved Number Eighteen, an empty house for which each neighbour has created an imaginary, wished-for tenant, is about to be occupied by Mr. Banks's childhood governess, Miss Andrew, otherwise known as the Holy Terror. Her dreaded arrival brings a pleasant surprise as well, for Luti, a boy from the South Seas, has accompanied her as both servant and student. Delighted by the prospect of a new friend, Jane and Michael are frustrated by the restrictions that the hypochondriacal Miss Andrew has placed on Luti, who grows more and more homesick for his family and tropical surroundings. When the call in his heart to return home becomes more than he can bear, it is Mary Poppins who makes the trip possible by means of a visit to the Man in the Moon.


Due to the series' popularity, there were several adaptations of the books to various media:


Studio One: The character was first brought to life in an early television play telecast live in 1949 by CBS television, as part of their anthology series Studio One. She was played by character actress Mary Wickes, in a performance that may have been noticeably closer to what P. L. Travers envisioned. E.G. Marshall portrayed Mr. Banks and future Lassie child star Tommy Rettig played Michael. David Opatoshu played Bert, who was a Match Man (a seller of matches) in this version. Apparently, no effort was made to disguise the fact that these actors were American.

1964 Film:
Mary Poppins was made into a film based on the first four books in the series by Walt Disney Productions in 1964. According to the 40th anniversary DVD release of the film in 2004, Walt Disney first attempted to purchase the film rights to Mary Poppins from P. L. Travers as early as 1938, but was rebuffed because Travers did not believe a film version of her books would do justice to her creation and did not want an animated cartoon based on it. Disney finally succeeded in 1961, although Travers demanded and got script approval rights.

The relationship between Travers and Disney is detailed in Mary Poppins She Wrote, a biography of Travers, by Valerie Lawson, published by Aurum Press in the United Kingdom. The relationship is also the subject of the 2013 Disney film Saving Mr. Banks.
The process of planning the film and composing the songs took about two years. Songs in the film are by the Sherman Brothers. Mary Poppins is played by British actress Julie Andrews. Disney cast Dick Van Dyke in the key supporting role of Bert. The Banks children were played by Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber. George and Winifred Banks were played by David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns. The film features a mix of adventures and episodes taken from each of the existing novels, and new events, created for it. In notable differences from the original novels, the film does not include the characters John, Barbara or Annabel Banks, and has Mary Poppins herself characterized as noticeably kinder.
The film received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture with Julie Andrews winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mary Poppins. The film won an additional four Oscars for Best Original Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee"), Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score.

1983 Film:

In 1983, the story was adapted by the Soviet Union's Mosfilm studios into the Russian-language TV musical film Мэри Поппинс, до свидания! (Mary Poppins, Goodbye), starring Natalya Andreychenko (acting) and Tatyana Voronina (singing) as Mary Poppins, Albert Filozov as George Banks and Oleg Tabakov as Miss Andrew.

Here is a link to part 1 of  Поппинс, до свидания!
(You're welcome)

And part 2 of  Поппинс, до свидания!
(You're welcome...again!)

2004 Musical:
Author P. L. Travers resisted selling the stage rights to the Mary Poppins stories for many years, as a result of her dislike of the 1964 film version, and her perception of being treated discourteously by Walt Disney at the film's premiere. Travers eventually agreed to sell the stage rights after being approached by London theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh. She acquiesced on the condition (expressed in her will) that only English-born writers – and no Americans, particularly anyone involved with the film production – were to be directly involved in the creative process of the stage musical.

The world premiere of the stage adaptation of Mary Poppins took place at the Bristol Hippodrome in the United Kingdom in September 2004. The production then moved to the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End on December 15, 2004, where it ran for three years before closing in January 2008. The show transferred to a UK national tour, and a number of international versions were staged, including a long Broadway run in New York City.

BBC Radio:
On 31 May 2010 BBC Radio 7 broadcast a one-hour dramatization combining several of the adventures into one drama, starring Juliet Stevenson as Mary Poppins. This production has been rebroadcast several times on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

2014 Tim Burton Hoaxes
In both March and October 2014, there were rumors circulating that director Tim Burton was set to helm a new version of the story, first with frequent collaborators Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp, and later on with Cate Blanchett in the title role, alongside Sam Riley. There was even a poster made, with Blanchett in period dress against a Victorian city with umbrellas falling from the sky. However, both of these were subsequently debunked as total hoaxes by several news outlets.

Unnamed 2015 Mary Poppins Film
On September 14, 2015, Disney announced a new Mary Poppins film was to be made, with a new plot and new songs. The film is going to be directed by Rob Marshall and written by David Magee. New songs will be composed by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who have both already gotten support from Richard Sherman, who created some of the iconic songs in the original Mary Poppins. Though the film will not be a reboot or remake of the original 1964 film, Mary Poppins will revisit the Banks Children from the first film. It will be loosely based on the other 7 Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers and expand beyond those. The film will be set 20 years after the original film takes place. The name of the actress who will succeed Julie Andrews is currently unknown.

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Below is an article written by Michael Ribbeck, Chief Reporter at the Bristol Post, about why generation after generation has "fallen in love with nanny"