Does a spoonful of sugar help the medicine go down? What exactly does "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" mean? Find out the answers when Elizabethtown Area High School presents "Mary Poppins."

The show will be performed at 7 p.m. from Thursday, Feb. 29, through Saturday, March 2, with an additional performance at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the high school auditorium, 600 E. High St.

With a cast and crew of more than 100 students, the production promises to entertain audiences of all ages, said Julia Laszakovits, a senior who portrays Mrs. Banks.

"It's got all the classic numbers from the Disney movie," she said. "Audiences can expect 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' and 'Jolly Holiday,' but there's also some new music that people may not have heard before."

Set against the backdrop of early-20th-century London, "Mary Poppins" follows a whimsical and mysterious nanny as she magically appears to bring joy and order to the troubled Banks family. With her unique personality, Mary takes the Banks children, Jane and Michael, on extraordinary adventures filled with wonder and discovery. 

Junior Scott Creason, who plays George Banks, said the show features a blend of entertainment and life lessons.

"It's a very high-energy musical, but it also has some teaching moments in it," he explained. "There are parts of it that are sort of critical of society."

The show also features some special effects on stage as well as complicated dance numbers. "It's been a lot of fun rehearsing, but it's definitely been challenging, because there's a lot of quickly paced numbers," said junior Brendan Fritz, who plays Bert. "There's a lot of challenging choreography, and we've been practicing a lot. I think it's going to turn out great."

Freshmen Evie Kopp and James Mott, who play the Banks children, are performing in their first high school musical.

"There's a lot of singing and dancing for both of us, and a lot of memorizing lines," said James. "We both have a lot of lines."

Added Evie, "We also had to learn how to get along as a family and how to act like bratty little kids."

The title role is an iconic character well known to audiences, and that proved a bit challenging at first, said senior Claire Hanlon, who plays Mary Poppins.

"It's definitely been a little bit daunting, knowing this role was played by Julie Andrews originally, and she is just an extraordinary actress and singer," Claire said. "But I've had the support of my parents and my friends and my directors and everyone involved. It's made it a little bit less intimidating."

Additional leads in the cast are Olivia Gable as Miss Andrew and Calla Stoltzfus as Mrs. Corry. Behind the scenes, the technical managers are Sophia Merlo and Emmalyn Watson. Stage managers are seniors Rebecca Mink, Andreanna Georges and Greta Bornmann, and assistant stage managers are Adrienne Crick, Julianna Gillette, Emma Griffith and Katie Lowell.

Tickets for "Mary Poppins" may be purchased at http://www.tinyurl.com/EAHSMaryPoppins24 or at the door one hour before performances.