In the midst of a rainy day on the East Coast, it was Mary Poppins herself that provided the spoonful of sugar for the Cabrini group in their adventure to New York City. Students, faculty and family members boarded a bus on Saturday, March 13, ready for a day in New York City and ready to experience Disney on Broadway.
“To have the ability to attend lunch, the show and dinner all in one trip was great,” Melissa Gambino, junior biology major, said.
The trip, which was offered by CAP Board, is a routine event that is offered in the fall as well as the spring. It is an event that always gains a great deal of support for the musical itself, as well as the experience of traveling to the Big Apple. Mary Poppins, the Disney musical, is performed at the New Amsterdam Theatre on West 42nd Street. It was surrounded by shops galore and countless restaurants. Within a three-block area is Times Square and the famous Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.
“It is fun to go somewhere that you don’t usually get to go. Walking around the city is always an experience and going places with your friends is always a plus,” Gambino said.
Participants were given a two-hour time period before and after the matinee show at 2 p.m. This gave people the opportunity to explore the city. Unfortunately, the rain and wind prevented some of the attendees from doing what they wanted to do.
“It was a great trip, but the weather had a huge impact on what we could do outside of the musical. It’s a shame because I would have loved to do some shopping, or just see the sites,” Recklau said.
The story of Mary Poppins itself had a very long and interesting story. The stories, first written in 1934 by P.L. Travers, were a combination of life experiences and the creation of the perfect Mary Poppins. In total, four books were written all with the same recurring characters.
The film rights to these stories were held privately by Travers until Walt Disney, after 20 years, was able to create a script that Travers would approve and sign off on. The film is a corner stone of the Disney productions and is still adored by many people every day. It wasn’t until Cameron Mackintosh gained the stage rights to Marry Poppins that he teamed with the Disney Theater Productions and began to create a mixture of the stories and books with the movie and all of its songs.
Even amoungst the terrential down pour of rain, Cabrini learned that with a little bit of will power and the ability to dream, anything can happen.
