CHS Presents: Mary Poppins

By: Abby Ridgel, Contributing Writer

On Thursday, April 13th Centralia High School(CHS) performed a dress rehearsal of their rendition of Mary Poppins for the 2nd and 8th grade classes. The musical was performed for the public on April 14th and 15th at Centralia High School. This year around 400 people attended the musical Friday and Saturday night.

Mary Poppins was selected this year as it had never been done before and the directors involved thought it would be new and exciting for the community. Directors for the musical include Mr. Scott Long, Mrs. Leah Rolfson and Mrs. Danelle Mathews. 

Mary Poppins was played by senior Annie Robinson and Bert was played by junior, Noah Kropf. Mr. and Mrs. Banks was played by juniors, Noah Taft and Morgan Ross. Jane Banks was played by fourth grade student Mayci Robertson and Michael Banks was played by fifth grade student Sawyer Reynolds.  The musical had about 40 students total performing in the show.

CHS performs a musical every spring. Mrs. Leah Rolfson, CHS music teacher, announces the show late in the first semester. In January, students start auditioning with pre-selected songs. Rolfson and Long go through auditions and determine which actor and voice would be able to create the best character.  Once the cast is decided, students start rehearsing multiple times a week to ensure they are ready for the show come April. 

Rolfson’s favorite part about the musical is, “I love the performance, because the kids are energetic and see how they can affect their audience. They see their work come to fulfillment.”
Rolfson has been a CHS music teacher for 18 years. 

Robinson, who played Mary Poppins, said her favorite thing about the musical was, “I loved watching the musical come together and being involved in new things to have a wide variety of experiences. I remember watching the musicals when I was younger and looked forward to being involved in the future. I hope the kids who watch the show look forward to these opportunities and are excited to become involved when they enter high school.”

​