It's a jolly holiday with Mary

Mary, Bert, the kids and Lil-lil's favourite talking statues.

Last night was one of those pinch-yourself-I-can't-believe-I'm-doing-this-because-of-blogging moments. Lil-lil and I braved a chilly Sydney night to turn up at The Captiol Theatre and see Mary Poppins.

The story actually begun weeks ago... Lil-lil had seen the original Julie Andrews movie and fallen in love. She was mesmerised by the songs and the dancing. She began to see billboards advertising the upcoming musical stage version and yelled out each and every time and I thought: "Hmmm maybe..." then I discovered that the tickets were $100+. As much as I thought she would like it, it was just a little too much moola to risk her getting bored after 15 minutes. So I forgot all about it.

Then one Friday afternoon, I received a lovely email from Disney inviting me and a guest to an evening performance and post-show drinks with the cast! Excellent! Though an 8pm showing on a Wednesday night was going to be a stretch for my 4-year-old. I ummed and ahhed about it. I remembered seeing The Sound of Music when I was slightly older than Lil-lil and it's a fond memory. Skip said: "Just take her, she'll love it."

So with an afternoon rest under our belts, we said goodbye to Goosey and Skip, rugged up and hit the town. From the minute we walked into the theatre foyer and saw the roof lined with hundreds of umbrellas, Lil-lil was amazed. We took our seats and she wriggled in anticipation. My little gal oohed at the orchestra warming up. She marvelled at the overhead lights twinkling like stars. Finally the curtain rose and we were drawn into Mary's London. Lil-lil gasped in amazement more times than I could count. She squealed with delight when her favourite songs came on. She laughed and giggled and tapped her toe.

She was blown away when the grey London park was transformed into a colourful wonderland by Mary. The talking, dancing statues were her absolute favourite part. By the time Supercalifragilisticexpialidociousl came on near the end of the first half, her eyelids began to droop. Not because she was bored, just because she was dog-tired. As the curtain closed for intermission she was snoring. It was time to go home. No hob-knobbing with the cast for us.

I was sad not to see the second half, but we had more than a spoonful of magic. As we drove home my sleepy girl recounted all her favourite parts, the dancing statues mentioned more than once. "Mum, maybe we can see it again in the daytime, nightimes make me sad and cranky,"she wisely said. I know it's something she's going to remember fondly for a long time to come.

Mary Poppins really is a magical show, the sets, costumes and the singing are fabulous. Yes, the tickets are on the pricey side and there are no child discounts, but it is the opportunity to see a world-class show. Apparently, there are some seats available for $45 and also discounted family of four tickets. If you have young children, I would highly recommend seeing a matinee, as the show does go for over two hours.  Despite all this, Mary Poppins is really worth it and your kids will be entranced. We will be humming the tunes for days to come.

Mary Poppins is on at The Capitol Theatre in Sydney for the next few months. Tickets are available form the box office and Ticketmaster.