The Magic Of “Mary Poppins”

When the world’s most famous nanny arrived on Broadway she brought a lot of magic on her own. But it never hurts to get a boost from Look Solutions’ Tiny-Foggers and Unique Hazers, which contribute their own on-set magic to the just-opened “Mary Poppins.” The new musical, at the New Amsterdam Theatre, marks the first collaboration between Disney and legendary producer, Cameron Mackintosh.

When Mary Poppins unfurls her umbrella and flies across the rooftops of London she soars above smoking chimney tops. Adirondack Studios in Argyle, New York, supplied eight Tiny-Foggers, the tiniest fog generators in the world, to create the illusion of the smoking chimneys.

“We built the Tiny-Foggers into eight chimneys; four are controlled by wireless DMX with Look Solutions DMX-it controllers in the chimney wagons and four are wired with a DMX relay module in the roof,” explains Tom McGlinch, foreman of Adirondack’s electric department. “Tiny-Foggers were the only product that would work in this application. Their versatility, with optional ways to control them, was a pleasant plus. Everyone I spoke to in our industry told us the Tiny-Foggers were very reliable, and the client seems very pleased with the end product. We had many other scenic elements to build for this show and it was nice that the Tiny Foggers performed exactly as expected with no surprises”

The show’s head electrician, Kevin Barry, is also deploying a pair of Unique Hazers, from Hudson Sound and Light, 10 feet above the stage at both Stage Left and Stage Right add haze to the darker, spookier scenes. Barry had previously used Unique Hazers and Look Solutions’ Viper Fog Generators on “The Lion King” where he became a fan of the systems. He reports that, “the designer likes the way the haze moves in quickly and dissipates quickly.”

“With the Unique Hazers you plug them in, set them and forget them,” notes Tom Ferguson at Hudson Scenic who first used Uniques on “The Woman in White.” “We really like not dealing with CO2. The Uniques are great!” Staying in the Look Solutions family, Ferguson plans to tap Vipers next for Broadway’s “Spring Awakening.”

Based in Germany, Look Solutions manufactures high performance fog machines, haze machines, mini foggers, accessories and fluids at reasonable prices. Look Solutions USA, located in south-central Pennsylvania, serves customers in the US, Canada and Mexico. For more information, or to request a demo machine for evaluation, visit www.lookfog2.com or call Hunter Totty, Sales Manager, at 1-800-426-4189.