A Spoonful of Sugar
BILL BULEY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 years, 1 month AGO
A Spoonful of Sugar
Bill Buley covers the city of Coeur d'Alene for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has worked here since January 2020, after spending seven years on Kauai as editor-in-chief of The Garden Island newspaper. He enjoys running. | December 21, 2012 8:00 PM
COEUR d'ALENE - Mary Poppins is landing at the Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre - by way of New York.
CST recently announced it is one of a handful of theaters to be awarded rights to perform Disney's and Cameron Mackintosh's "Mary Poppins," the recent stage adaptation of one of the most beloved musicals of all time.
The theater will switch gears for its 2013 show lineup, swapping out "Music Man," in favor of Mary Poppins, which will run July 5 to July 14.
"We're absolutely honored to be selected by the folks at Disney to perform Mary Poppins," said CST artistic director Roger Welch. "It's a huge feather in our cap, and we jumped at the opportunity. I think our audiences will be thrilled with the shows we're presenting for 2013."
"We're rearranging our whole season to accommodate this," said Jonna Olscamp, CST spokeswoman.
It started in New York.
Welch was producing a show there and took part in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre conference.
There was discussion that Mary Poppins was being released in five theaters of the country.
"Any way we can get on that list?" Welch said.
Turns out, yes, they could.
A Disney official made some calls, while Welch waited.
"I'll just ask them right now," he said.
Word came back, "Oh, we know them. They do great work."
CST was one of a few theaters, in the world, given the rights to Mary Poppins while it's still on Broadway, Olscamp said.
"So it's kind of a big deal," she said.
"It's sort of catching lightning in a bottle. Roger happened to be there, talking to the right people. It just sort of came together."
Disney, she added, could easily have said, "No, Coeur d'Alene is too small for this production."
It didn't.
And there's a reason for that.
CST provides professional, quality theater at an affordable price, Olscamp added.
The cost of professional theater can be prohibitive, with tickets reaching beyond the $100 range.
"Theater has become so elitist, especially in New York," Welch said.
Welch said CST has a reputation for quality shows and pays its bills, too - its fiscally responsible and doing good work.
"That means a lot to a royalty house," he said.
But the coolest thing, Olscamp added, was that "Disney knows about us."
"Here we are, little Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Disney knows about what we're doing up here," she said.
"These are multi-million theaters getting the rights to this, and us," she said.
"Feels like we're kind of a big deal."
Mary Poppins, Olscamp said, is "part of our iconic theatrical history. Everybody knows it."
Welch, who may direct the musical, said Mary Poppins "resonates with our society."
"You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't love or know Mary Poppins," he said.
Olscamp said if CST sees success with Mary Poppins, it could land it more such acclaimed shows.
Auditions for Mary Poppins will be in February and March. Cast will come from throughout the country, with locals trying out, too.
CST, Olscamp said, is "a national caliber theater," but not everyone is aware of it.
"I think the people in New York know more about Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre than sometimes people from Coeur d'Alene."
MORE ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
ARTICLES BY BILL BULEY
Coeur d'Alene fire department damages historic home before preservation committee review
Older home inadvertently used for fire department training before Historic Preservation Commission review
“Unfortunately, the property owner granted permission to the Fire Department to conduct their training activities prior to the review and even though the demolition permit had not been issued,” a fire department press release said. “The Fire Department was not aware of the demolition review meeting scheduled for the subject property.”
Police eye designs for new building
Captain says operations have been maintained since last year's fire
The new police building will have a sprinkler system, which its predecessor did not because when it was acquired in 2016, it wasn't required that it have a sprinkler system as it was predominately used for storage.
Corridor traffic project bumped up
Mild weather allows work to begin on Government Way
The project includes upgrading traffic signal components at 10 intersections, bringing pedestrian ramps into ADA compliance, and providing coordination between signals to improve traffic flow.