Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda Make Dreams Come True at a Special Screening of Mary Poppins Returns
Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda Make Dreams Come True at a Special Screening of Mary Poppins Returns
It was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious sort of evening at last night’s special screening for Mary Poppins Returns hosted by the Cinema Society. The weather was something atrocious, but it didn’t hinder guests (many with little ones in tow) from waltzing downtown to the SVA theater. “We need Mary Poppins!” was a phrase heard time and time again throughout the evening. For Director Rob Marshall (Into the Woods, Chicago), the film means more now more than ever. Marshall explains, “The message in the film for me is finding light in the darkness...I think we all can understand and feel that we all need a little lift right now. We need an injection of hope; an injection of wonder and magic in our time.” He wasn't alone. Alongside the fantastical music, composed by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, is a dream-come-true cast: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, even the legendary chimney sweeper himself, Dick Van Dyke. According to Marshall, no spoonful of sugar was needed to coax the talent into getting onboard with the idea—there were no rejections. For Miranda, he had already been rehearsing long before the role was even offered to him, having grown up with the 1964 version of Mary Poppins starring Dame Julie Andrews. “I spent a lot of hours dancing with penguins before I ever got this job. It was just a one sided relationship with my VHS cassette in my home!” And just as Miranda grew up with the film, his sons now share in the wondrous Poppins magic with their dad. “My favorite song in the new movie is Trip a Little Light Fantastic only because one of my sons learned the lyrics wrong and he sings it wrong around the house. It’s the greatest!”
Blunt hadn’t seen the original version beforehand, but she told Vogue where she sourced her inspiration for the iconic role. “I found the books to be extraordinary and I watched comedies from the '30s for the timing, the timbre and the cadence, and how they spoke.” It was a role destined for Blunt according to Marshall. “It was clear to us after having worked with her on Into the Woods that there was only one person on the planet to play this role and that was and is Emily.” Blunt nails every scene, trapezing between silly and serious with charismatic ease.
After the screening, guests fought gusts of wind (strangely not unlike the sort Mary Poppins’ prefers to travel in) all the way to the Top of the Standard. Party goers, Michael Kors, Martha Stewart, and more snacked on plush lobster rolls, burgers, and warm cookies under a gold tinsel ceiling whilst sipping on bubbly Champagne. It was an evening of pure magic.
Mary Poppins Returns arrives in theaters this Wednesday, December 19th.
Emily Blunt Takes Over for Anna Wintour and Talks About Becoming Mary Poppins:
