Plenty of talk about Mary Poppins stage

The dramatic stage set design being used for Rotorua's production of Mary Poppins – The Broadway Musical has become a talking point since the show opened.

The stage for the show, now in its final week, has been described as top class.

Designed by one of New Zealand's most respected theatre designers, John Harding, the set evolves from a grand living room to the rooftops of London, and from cosy children's bedrooms to an opulent park.

Harding designed the creative yet compact sets for the New Zealand Musical Theatre Consortium's tour of Mary Poppins which began in Invercargill in 2016.

Since then the set has been brought to life in more than six regional theatres.

Visiting from England, Gwyn Harris attended the show with friends and was amazed by the whole production.

"This was on par with any West End show I have been to. The singing was top class and the stage and lighting made it magical," she said.

Having won many theatre and film design awards, Harding has also worked with Weta Workshop on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as Peter Jackson's King Kong and James Cameron's Avatar.

Rotorua Musical Theatre president Natasha Benfell said those who hadn't yet attended the Rotorua production might not realise it wasn't just a home-made set.

"This is a professionally made set, designed by John Harding who has a huge string of film and TV credits to his name.

"With only four more performances in this limited season, I would say to people – don't miss out."

Tickets are available for the following performances: Wednesday March 21at 7.30pm, Friday March 23 at 7.30pm, and Saturday March 24 at 2pm and 7.30pm.

A range of seating and family concessions are available through www.ticketmaster.co.nz or at the Ticketmaster office at Rotorua Energy Events Centre.