At 18, Mary Larkin Furlow is a veteran actress. She started working with Arts Live Theatre during her fifth grade year.
"My mom encouraged me to try it," she says of her debut at 11 in "Annie." "I got cast in an ensemble part, and I got the bug!"
FAQ
‘Mary Poppins’
WHEN — 7 p.m. today & Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE — Global Campus Theatre in downtown Fayetteville
COST — $10-$15
INFO — 521-4932
For Furlow, this weekend's Arts Live production of "Mary Poppins" is her swan song. She's in her senior year at Fayetteville High School, where she's appeared in "Little Shop of Horrors," "Steel Magnolias" and "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," and this time, she's playing the lead, author P.L. Travers' beloved and magical English nanny.
Working with cast members as young as 8 can be a challenge compared to her high school theater experiences, Furlow says, "but I love it! You get to see these kids just as excited as I was at their age, and they're some of the most talented kids in the region. It honestly makes me want to work harder."
Missy Gipson is the director riding herd on a cast of 32 in the full-length musical, not the "junior" version, which has been in rehearsal for only six weeks.
"It's really cool -- one of the reasons I love kids' theater -- to put all these ages together in a creative environment. When you do that, what it looks like is community. They're all focused on this common goal, and it's lovely to watch that experience unfold."
That said, Gipson admits it's been "quite an undertaking" to make magic on a decidedly mundane budget.
"You have to find the moments when you can make that little bit of magic happen," she says. "You really have to be creative."
Audiences, says Furlow, have to appreciate a children's show for what it is.
"If you go in expecting it to be like a show on Broadway, you're going to be very disappointed," she says. "But if you go in just to enjoy the story and how hard these kids have worked? They love everything they're doing, and it's so much fun to watch them."
-- Becca Martin-Brown
NAN What's Up on 11/18/2016