Broadway Comes to WHS: Mary Poppins | Eastern NC Now

    Last night at the Washington High School Auditorium was an epiphany for me. I saw Quality Theater of the kind you would have to drive 8 hours to my Atlanta to experience, yet here it was in the corner of Little Washington (the original) in spades.

    WHAT A NIGHT OF TALENT!!!

    Once the orchestra struck up the music, I knew something special was about to happen for my birthday! My wife and I considered the play part of a weekend of birthday culminating on this Monday as I turn 69. Our grandson, Thomas (TC) Taylor was part of the ensemble. He played multiple parts with a talent we had no idea he possessed. It is his first venture into theater, but he has been excited about practices and dared not miss one. Now I know why!

    We were not at a performance

    WE WERE ON THE ROOFTOPS OF LONDON looking at starlit skies. We bounded across open fields to the sound of "Let's Go Fly a Kite." The rendition of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" brought down the house. We had about 1/4 of the auditorium filled, but Radio City Music Hall could not have had more thrilled people full of appreciation for an ensemble acting their hearts out. There was enough talent to make the ECU Auditorium with its imported productions bow in humility to the WHS crew!

    I see the Cecil B. DE Mille historic plaque in downtown Washington. His "Ten Commandments" had no more grandeur than our stage at the WHS auditorium.

    The people who did the staging were masters far beyond their years of experience. Ken Adams, Kortney Hardy, and Alexis Murdock worked behind the scenes to give us Cherry Tree Lane, a park, the night sky and chimney sweeps singing "Chim Chim Cher-ee!" The audio needed a little fix on some faulty mikes, however, the actors ignored all but their performance . . . R. Travis Carter and Kedejah Harding should immediately apply for positions at WITN's studios! The complexity of their task was great and they made it happen for us last night!

    The Auditorium is called "The Performing Arts Center" --- and art was truly performed last night! Andrew Jennings got a "thank you and good luck" as a Theatre for Youth Intern at ECU guiding the performance. He certainly has a bright future and might just end up on Broadway producing! Talent the likes of Sandra Bullock came from Eastern NC to earn awards and enthrall us. That kind of talent was present out on Slatestone Road last night.

    THESPIAN is an ancient term that has its roots in Greek Theater. Before the days of color TV and sports, the crowds of Rome and Athens were taken from their mundane existence to the caves and mountains. Moral stories of old took living form through actors and supporting artists of their day. Old Bath Town has another historic plaque telling of the Riverboat floating theater which used to land here and bring a break from the sweat of farming on the frontier. The first town of NC (as well as port) showed that talent for what has become a remote tourist place of today. Whether you know it or not, the musical, "Showboat," has its roots here in Eastern NC!

    I cannot say enough for the actors of last night. To start with I am amazed how a bunch of southern speaking teens could make the Cockney dialect of lower class London so accurate. Bert (Connor Smith) showed us a Dick VanDyke character. George Banks and Winifred came to life under the talents of Kendall Styers and Taylor Abele. Their children, Jane and Michael (Sidney Harris and Ben Crawford), brought tears of laughter and love to this audience member. It is one thing to speak lines. It is quite another to be transported inside a Disney Classic! I can't imagine a better Mary Poppins than was done last night by Diani Teixeira. They did it to thundering applause and warmed heats of parents and friends clapping our hearts out --- with tears of joy wetting our cheeks and giving a lump of joy in the throat.

    One of my favorite movies is "Mr. Holland's Opus." It tells the story of a second rate aspiring composer who touched the lives of High School Students during the 60's and Vietnam. One of his students became the governor of their state from playing a squeaky flute in her beginning. Another girl with a singing talent made us weep as they did a Gershwin review with football players dancing. That same quality of teaching and loving is in clear evidence at WHS! The teachers here care!

    We are blessed with such quality in education and the arts here in Beaufort County. At 2:00 this afternoon is the final performance. The teachers in the vestibule say there is usually a large audience at the finale. I certainly hope, if you have not yet gone to see this production, you will change any plans and attend today! I am considering a second visit myself. $10 is a cheap ticket to Broadway-quality entertainment!

    ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH.

    Here is an idea that has struck me overnight: Why not use the little outdoor theater at Bath, built for the Tercentennial, as a place to do a week long encore performance of Mary Poppins? I do not know if other schools are doing such outstanding productions, but I can envision a "Performing Arts Competition" of the same caliber as our famous sports finals all over NC. ACC March Madness is but a tip of the iceberg of what we can do when we make up our minds.

    We have some of the best youth coming on to be the real future of NC. The Great North State is full of talent of all kinds. Our teachers have a reputation from the one room school house to our consolidated schools of today for producing quality. Charles Kuralt is from NC. Sandra Bullock is hitting the heights; many others from racing to sports to performing arts have a NC accent and inspiration from the hills to the coast.

    Old Andy Griffith would be proud of this new group stepping up to keep the dream alive, in my view!

    Let's go fly a kite . . . up to the highest heights . . .