WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Hillsdale Academy Presents: Mary Poppins

Episode Date: April 13, 2026

Hillsdale Academy presents Mary Poppins on April 17 at 7pm and April 18 at 2pm and 7pm. Assistant Director Kathryn Wales and actors John Henry Lindley and Mary Schlueter join Lilly Faye Kraemer on WRFH to preview the show. Tickets are available here.

Y'all are listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Lily Faye Kramer, a sophomore at Hillsdale. And today I'm interviewing Henry and Mary, and they are both in Hillsdale Academy's performance of Mary Poppins. So Henry, Mary, and your teacher, can y'all introduce yourself, say what year you are, and what role you're playing in Mary Poppins? Hey, I'm Mary Schleader. I am a senior at Hillsdale. Academy. I'm going to be going to Hillsdale College in the fall. And I am playing Mrs. Banks, the role of Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins, which I'm very excited about. I am John Henry Lindley. I am a senior at the Academy. I am also going to Hillsdale College next fall. I am looking forward to playing Bert in the upcoming production of Mary Poppins.

And I'm Catherine Wales. I am their drama teacher and I am the assistant director on this production. It's being lead directed by our very own Gail Maui, who has put so much of her heart and soul into the show. It's astonishing. So shout out to Gail. Awesome. Welcome to Radio Free Hillsdale. So to begin, how long have y'all been working on Mary Poppins when we're auditions? Did y'all know that you wanted to be Mary Poppins and Burt? How did that look like? What did that look like? We started right after 12 Angry Men. That was our fall show. And so, So it's been since November that we had auditions and casting and so much dancing. It's just been a blur of dancing.

Wow. Yes. The show is very, very choreograph heavy, which is really fun. I don't think we've done a show of this caliber in that area before. I know when we announced Mary Poppins that I was just really excited to be a part of the show in general. I mean, it's been a pretty formative part of my childhood. I mean, what kid doesn't love Mary Poppins? So I just know when they announced auditions.

I mean, everyone was pretty excited. And my fantastic friend, Anne Gray, who's also a senior, is playing Mary Poppins, which I'm so excited about because we were actually co-stars in our freshman year show. Matilda, I was crunchable and she was Matilda. So now we kind of have a reversal of that, which is really fun. So, yeah, I don't know. What do you have thoughts on me? Yeah, when I first heard that we were doing Mary Poppins, I think my mind immediately went to like, okay, I want to be Bert.

Bert or bust. Yeah, right. So I was really into Dick Van Dyke and his portrayal of Bert, which is kind of the classic what everybody thinks of the character. And he always made me laugh and just had that kind of that gravitas that I always wanted. So I always aspired to be like him and I've kind of shaped some of the aspects of my character. around what he, around what he did in the Disney production. And while I, going into the show, I wasn't very good at tap dancing.

I've been working a lot at that. So that's been a lot of fun. And yeah, no, I've really, I've really enjoyed watching Dick Van Dyke work. And then being able to transfer some of his work into my work and seeing what, seeing what works and what doesn't work and what I like about his and what I decided to change. Yeah, that's so fair. Mary, did Julie Andrews have any influence on you? Honestly, it was really fun doing, we're actually doing the musical version of Mary Poppins,

which is really fun because there's a couple of differences from the movie version, but I love Julie Andrews. I love her portrayal of Mary Poppins. but I think it was really fun because my character, Mrs. Banks, differs pretty strongly from the portrayal of her in the movie. She's a lot more character development, let's just say, in the show version of that. And she actually resembles Julie Andrews' character of Mary Poppins a lot more in the show.

I think when it comes to character development, so I've had a lot of fun. I rewatched the movie recently with my little siblings, and so it was fun just seeing her work. work out that character and taking some notes from that. And watching Anne really take on her persona has been a lot of fun, I think. So, yeah, I mean, I love Julie Andrews. So any resemblance, I happily will try to copy because she's phenomenal.

She's a phenomenal actor. She really is. Miss Wales, what would you say the biggest differences between the movie and then the musical version and how have y'all worked through that in rehearsal and whatnot? Um, the biggest difference is that it's full of children that I know. And I have been directing these two in particular for the last eight years. We've probably done 16 shows or something like that together with both of these two. So being here at the end of senior year with them is incredibly poignant and meaningful for me.

And yeah, I would say in terms of tone, uh, are the, the stage. play is a little bit darker, perhaps. It's that the stakes feel higher because it's not just that Mr. Banks is kind of missing his kids. And that's, in the movie, that's played more to even comedic effect. I mean, there are certainly serious moments in the movie. And I really do love the movie. But I'm noticing here, especially we have Zane Soha playing Mr. Banks. And he was Jean Valjean. So he's bringing all kinds of gravitas to this role. And, um, and it's, It's really about the breakdown of the bank's family, all of them, all of them being fragmented and totally missing one another.

And that Mary Poppins is, she has to put them back together. That's what the story is all about. And how does she do that? And the staging just is, it's very intentional. It's very thoughtful. There's a lot of symbolism and just, I mean, even the framing of it. It'll be fun for the audience to. come in, probably having seen the Disney original, but then finding a lot of freshness and a lot

to ponder in this musical. Yeah. Yeah. What do y'all hope the audience will gain after your performance? Well, it's, Mrs. Wales mentioned that it's different from the Disney version. So I kind of hope that people aren't coming and expecting to see just a stage production of the Disney version because I think that's kind of what I was expecting going into the play. And it was just it's just so different that it doesn't really fulfill that aspect of the play, the movie version. So what I hope people get from this is that art isn't. art isn't the way, art isn't portrayed in one way. It's really flexible. It's up for interpretation.

And that's why the artist is so important. The actual story of Mary Poppins isn't defined by this one movie. It's actually flexible in that people can interpret the character of Mary Poppins differently. They can draw their own conclusions about the backstories differently. And they can even add, you know, songs differently. So I really hope that people come in with an open mind to the different approach, which the director took to the play version. Yeah, that's really good.

What would you all have to say about, so for the instrumentation, will you all have live musicians or is it pre-recorded? It's pre-recorded. Okay. Well, that's also fun. How has that been? Has it made it easier? with staging in rehearsals and whatnot?

I mean, one thing that's good about that is you hit play and there's the music, like jump in, you know? Right. Right. So it does provide structure, which I think is really good. I mean, a challenge that we have is it is humongous. I think there's 65, 65 kids in it. And that means it's big, it's energetic.

it's a rollicking romp of a time, those big numbers. So we've been rehearsing in the music room and we built a giant wooden stage for that and we're having to transport it now to the Academy Gym this weekend. So it's been, yeah, there have been some challenges, but overcoming those challenges is extra fun. I mean, once you see that many kids tap dancing, it's like, oh, wow, I am amazed, yes. That's so awesome. Another question. So what does your rehearsal structure look like each week? How do you divide your music and your vocal lessons with tap dancing as well as memorizing all your lines? And then the logistics of having 65 kids in the set. What does that look like for you all? Honestly, it is so much fun having such a large cast. I mean, generally the rehearsal structure is you got to show.

show up all the people that need to get into their tap dancing shoes, which is always just absolutely hilarious to watch. I mean, there are some goofy people in this cast, I got to tell you. And then we'll have, we'll have these dancing warm-ups. And then, I mean, you basically have to, again, as Mrs. Wales said, I mean, the magnitude of people in the show. And then just the show itself is huge. I mean, like, multiple scenes, you have so many people on stage, and there's so much choreography going on. And so we often have to divide up into a lot of lot of groups. There's a lot of, I mean, yeah, you'll just have, like, you'll be in one classroom and there'll be 30 people working on, like, the chimney sweep scene. And then on the stage,

you have another, like, 20 people working on the kitchen scene and all these crazy things going on. And then the vocal lessons often happen individually. Mrs. Mowry is such a phenomenal director. She not only directs the show on a large scale, but she actually is also the personal vocal director for all the leads. And so I've been especially grateful for that. So we get a lot of time with her during school hours, during study halls. Leads get to go off and just practice with Mrs. Maury on her own. She's just so knowledgeable and competent. And it is just awesome to get that special individual attention as well as just the big show picture. And I honestly, as one of the special things about the academy is its size is it's not huge.

compared to other high schools, but the size of it allows for so many people to be involved in drama. I mean, it is truly a school-wide show. Almost all my friends are in it. And so we are all just looking forward to getting together and just producing this for everyone. So yeah. That's amazing. Henry, what is your favorite scene? What is my favorite scene? That is a good question. And I think, I don't know, there is one scene. in it's kind of later later in the play where me and some of the chimney sweeps do kind of a particularly hard stunt. It's terrified. Oh my goodness.

And I mean, it's not impossible, although sometimes I can feel that way. What does the stunt look like? What do you all do? Well, basically involves me standing on people's hands and walking across the air. And basically walking across the stage. No, the air. Open air. So it's a little bit tremulous.

And I think a lot of people are, I don't know, we'll see if it works out in the end. It will work out. But no, that's kind of my favorite scene just because I love to see how excited other people in the play are to see that scene. and it's also just hard, so I like doing hard things with the fellows. Yeah. Mary, what's your favorite scene? Honestly, back to the difference from the movie to the play, there's a lot of really interesting character development going on with Mr. and Mrs. Banks, especially.

And so there's this one scene I find especially poignant where Mrs. Banks and Mr. Banks have parallel, I mean, they're on both sides of the stage and they're both basically, um, um, what's ruminating on their, um, self-realization. Like, they both realize, um, super important truths about themselves. So Mr. Banks realizes, oh, I am not, um, as in control as I thought I was. I'm not as invincible as I thought I was. Um, and Mrs. Banks has this realization that, oh, like, I actually do need to be there for my husband in a way that I haven't been before. And, um, I actually do have power to act. And so I just find that really beautiful because, I mean,

they both sing, the tune that they sing resembles the songs that they introduce with. And so there's a really fun theme going on throughout the show for both of them. And so I really enjoy that scene just because the parallel is pretty interesting. And it's really moving, honestly. So that would have to be mine. Yeah. Mrs. Wales, what has been your biggest takeaway? What's something you've learned from the play that differentiates it from 12-A-Gree men or other plays that you've done or musicals, I guess?

I think I'm really impressed with the level of psychological development in the script because we really come to understand why Mr. Banks is the way he is. And that's just not open to us in the original. Like we can kind of piece some things together. But again, a lot of his sort of bumbling is played for laughs. Whereas here it's not. It's a deep matter of he just didn't have anything like a Mary Poppinson in his own life. And what are the consequences of that? And so I've just, I've really enjoyed seeing an updated version that I like more. I think that I've tend to.

to see the originals like, oh, the classic. That's right. That's telling the truth, you know, in the best way. And then the modern adaptations, maybe not. Maybe there's something more sort of postmodern about it or just just kind of missing the mark. And it feels like, well, it's hard to do that at a classical school. But this one, I feel really glad that it's, that the themes are very true and kind of new in some ways because of that layer. of psychological insight. So I really appreciate that. If I recall from the musical,

I think I saw it a few years ago when my sister was in it. But in the musical, isn't that when Mr. Banks has the really cool nanny? Yes. The anti-Mary Poppins. Yes, the Auntie Mary Poppins.

And I remember I liked that better than the movie because it gave the audience more clarity and it didn't really villainize Mr. Banks. Like, he isn't the villain. Because I feel like in the movie, it's just at the very end. And they only place an emphasis

on his work and his stress. But what I like about the musical, too, is like your childhood does matter and how you're brought up has a huge impact on your values and how you live your life. So, yeah, I'm so happy y'all are doing the musical. Is there anything you want to tell your audience before they see the musical? Well, I want to tell you where and when it is for sure. So we're doing this next weekend, April 17th. So Friday the 17th at 7 p.m.

And then also Saturday, April 18th at 2 and at 7th. So we have a matinee and an evening show. All three shows are at Hillsdale Academy. We're transforming the gym like we did for Matilda, but even bigger and better this time. And you can get tickets at, I'm going to read the address, but there are also QR codes on the posters that are around campus. But here's the address.

It's Hillsdale Academy Presents. Dot ludus, L-U-D-U-S dot com. And you can also call the Hillsdale Academy office with any questions, and that's 517-439-8644. Awesome. Thank you all so much for joining me. Thanks for having us. Thank you.

All right. Well, this has been Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Hope to see you all at Hillsdale Academy's production. of Mary Poppins, The Musical.