Mary Poppins was SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!

I have been wanting to blog these pictures all week. I was waiting until I had time to organize them as I have hundreds of photos. Since I have so little time, I'm just going to post them in pretty much random order. I can't even begin to describe what a wonderful experience this was for Alec from beginning (auditioning in December) to end (performing on April 24th).

To be honest, we were very surprised when Alec, at Ms. Hinami's request, tried out for the 5th grade production of Mary Poppins. We were excited when he got the male lead - "Bert." We were amazed when we saw just how talented he is - acting, singing, and dancing! For the past several months the directors, Ms. Hinami and Mrs. Hogan told us he had a gift and we were going to be amazed. They were right. Alec has always been such a quiet, reserved boy. At home we see his "wild" side, but at school I know he is a quieter boy. You would have never known it to see him on stage. He was full of confidence and never expressed any nervousness. The production was incredible - not an ordinary elementary school production at all. The costumes, sets, and musical numbers were so impressive. I am in awe of the teachers (and the high school assistants) who put this together. Alec made some new friends and had so much fun. Rehearsals started in January (two days a week 3:50-5:30) and the last two weeks every day until 6:00. Ms. Hinami also spent extra time one-on-one with Alec at the beginning teaching him the dances. We'll be getting the DVD soon so I hope I can post some scenes on here for you to watch. It was also wonderful to have friends and family come to the performance and share their enthusiasm with Alec. I've actually been listening to "Mary Poppins" in the car and smile whenever I picture Alec onstage.

Mr. Banks, Mrs. Banks, Michael and Jane - such great costumes and sets.

Mary Poppins, Jane, and Michael

The set crew - Brian joined the crew which Alec was so happy about. David's OCD skills came in handy as he co-ordinated set movement and had things moving like clockwork between scenes.

The Directors - Ms. Hinami (Alec's music and choir teacher) and Mrs. Hogan who teaches third grade. They made these shirts the final weeks of rehearsals. When I first saw the rehearsals I was very worried - the kids did not know their lines, the teachers were getting frustrated, I really didn't know if it would come together.

Alec opened the show.

"I Love to Laugh" was one of my favorite numbers.

It was pretty funny when Alec came out with a costume change. "Jolly Holiday" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" were big dance numbers.

"Chim Chim Cheree" and "Step in Time"

We loved it when he had to swing Mr. Banks around - it got a good laugh.

"Let's Go Fly a Kite"

The cast party was WILD. They all jumped up on stage when the teachers put on the soundtrack t Glee.