The Star Players are promising a supercalifragilousticespialodocious production of the Disney musical Mary Poppins.
The Holmesburg Recreation Center-based Star Players will present Mary Poppins Friday through Sunday, Oct. 10-12, at Venice Island Performing Arts Center, 7 Lock St. in Manayunk. Showtime is 7 p.m.
The show is based on the 1964 film that starred Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and included songs such as Supercalifragilousticespialodocious, Chim Chim Cher-ee and Step in Time.
Mary Poppins is set in London, and the title character works as a nanny for the Banks family – George and Winifred and their children Jane and Michael.
In the Star Players’ production, Katie Estudante plays Mary Poppins. Jay Vertucio and Gabriella Dayton-Moore play George and Winifred Banks. Anthony Gabriele plays Michael, while Anna O’Brien and Catie Gasiewski share the role of Jane. The director is Bill Arthur, who also plays Bert, a close friend of Mary Poppins.
In all, there are more than 40 people in the cast.
“I’m a noisy, mischievous, troublesome little boy,” Gabriele said of his character, as described by Mary Poppins.
Gabriele, a sixth-grader at St. Katharine Drexel School in Holland, is making his first Star Players appearance since the 2019 production of Annie. He is joined in the cast by his sister, two aunts and two cousins.
Estudante, whose 11-year-old son Danny is in the ensemble, described the Star Players as a family-oriented group. She’s been watching Mary Poppins since age 2 and can’t wait to take the stage in the lead role.
“I’m absolutely excited to fulfill a childhood dream,” she said.
Vertucio was recommended to the Star Players by a mutual friend of Estudante and is making his debut with the group.
“It’s going well,” he said. “I’m excited to do the show. That day can’t come fast enough.”
Dayton-Moore, too, is making her Star Players debut. She came to the group through her friend, Gasiewski.
“Rehearsals have been going great. It’s a great production and a great company,” said Dayton-Moore, who graduated from Nazareth Academy High School earlier this year.
Gasiewski, a sophomore at St. Hubert, joined Dayton-Moore in an April production of Little Shop of Horrors at Father Judge. She’s loved the character of Jane since watching Mary Poppins, her grandmom’s favorite movie.
“I watched it all the time over her house,” she said. “The movie has a special place in my heart.”
Anna O’Brien, a senior at MaST Community Charter School, will play Jane on the first two nights. While she played Mary Poppins in MaST’s production two years ago, she understood that the lead role for the Star Players production would go to an adult. She’s happy to play Jane in her Star Players debut.
“It’s been really nice coming here, meeting new people and seeing what they have to offer,” she said. “I like the mix of people we have here.”
Arthur likes directing and starring in Mary Poppins because it has parts for kids and adults. He understands the Star Players won’t be winning any Tony Awards, but likens the community group to the caliber of regional theater. He invites the public to check out a performance.
“People who loved the movie,” he said, “will love our version of it.” ••
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Group rates are available. Tickets are available on Venmo @TheStarplayers or at Holmesburg Recreation Center, 4500 Rhawn St. For more information, call director Bill Arthur at 215-685-8714, email [email protected] or visit the group’s Facebook page.
