5 hours Ago By Josh Leeson
MAX Howard is feeling the pressure. Login or signup to continue reading On Saturday night the fresh-faced Newcastle performer is stepping onto the Civic Theatre stage in Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins for what he describes as "biggest one [show] I've ever done". Howard will play the lead male role, Bert, the fun-loving singing and dancing cockney chimney sweep, made famous by Dick Van Dyke in the 1964 film version of the musical comedy.
With a budget of $1.2 million, Mary Poppins will be one of the biggest local theatre productions ever staged in Newcastle. Newcastle's The Very Popular Theatre Company is presenting 16 shows between Saturday and October 20, including four two-show days.
Producer and director Daniel Stoddart previously told the Newcastle Herald Weekender that Bert was "tricky" to cast. "Max, I think this is his time to step up," Stoddart said. "It's a little bit risky because he's never done anything of this scale before.
"The role of Mary and the role of Bert, they really need to stand on stage and hold the weight of the show on their shoulders." While Howard is young and inexperienced (he turns 19 on the final day of Mary Poppins ), his talent and hunger is without question. "He [Stoddart] has put a lot of trust in me with this," Howard says.
"He played Bert 10 years ago when Mary Poppins was last at the Civic Theatre. "It's kind of like passing the baton on. I'm actually wearing his hat in the show.
"He's someone who has really helped me to move along this journey and grow as a person into Bert. Bert is a massive role, the biggest one I've ever done and maybe one of the biggest I'll ever do in my life." Howard, who is the son of former Newcastle Liberal candidate Karen Howard and step-son of Alloggio Group founder Will Creedon, started dancing at three.
He did tap, ballet and jazz, but the pivotal moment in his life came in year 8 at the Hunter School of Performing Arts when he joined the ensemble of Roald Dahl's Matilda . Then in 2022 he joined Stoddart's Hunter Drama as an year 11 student and starred in Seussical . " Matilda set some nice foundations and then Seussical just stamped it for me," Howard says.
"It really made me realise that this is what I wanna do with my life. "I want to bring joy to people. I want to be up on a stage and sing and dance my heart out, and that's what I want my job to be.
" I want to bring joy to people. I want to be up on a stage and sing and dance my heart out, and that's what I want my job to be. "I want to wake up in the morning and do this.
" Back in March Howard appeared in the The Very Popular Theatre Company's Superstars , an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice greatest hits-style show featuring musical theatre heavyweights Marina Prior and Silvie Paladino. The performance further convinced Howard to strive for musical theatre productions like Mary Poppins . "It was mind-blowing," he says.
"I got to share the stage with people I aspire to be like. Sylvia Paladino is incredible and it was amazing to even have a conversation with her." Mary Poppins is one of Disney's most beloved musicals.
The 1964 film, starring Julie Andrews in the title role, features classic songs by brothers Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman like A Spoonful Of Sugar , Chim Chim Cher-ee and the tongue-twisting Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious .
To learn the latter song Newcastle-bred West Side Story star Patrick Whitbread lent Howard and Central Coast's Felicity Beale (Mary Poppins) a hand in rehearsals, having previously played Bert. Then it was all about repetition. "It was a lot of doing it in my head in the shower, when I'm driving, cooking dinner," Howard says.
"A lot of walking around the house doing it. It was a mind boggle to start." Mary Poppins was released 60 years ago and is set in 1910 London, so why does the story continue to resonate with modern audiences? "It's a nice reminder to people to still dream, to have dreams, aspire to do things and nothing is ever really impossible," Howard says.
"It's a really magical show. It brings families together and transcends over generations. Grandparents, parents, children, grandchildren, everybody's seen Mary Poppins in their life, no matter if you're 80 or you're eight.
" Mary Poppins plays at the Civic Theatre until October 20. Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team.
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