mary poppins herself! stephanie lee. ♪ >> i have an 18-year-old daughter. they learn? you guys like "fearless"? >> yes. >> never heard of it. >> well then you've got your work cut out for you, don't you, sweetie? you'll be great. i'm going to step aside for a moment. stephanie, it's all yours. >> each of you will get a solo. one, two, three, four -- ♪ >> i'm going to write these down as we go along. good! woo! >> first of all, amazing job. what's the song called? >> "fearless." >> so i'm going to need you to be a little more fearless. wherever you are tomorrow just sing it. like fearlessly. do that, be fearless, let it out. >> all right. so did you guys have a good time? >> yeah. >> little scary, right? it's got to be. well that's david! all right, you're going to be singing taylor swift's "fearless." and they didn't know the song. really, didn't sing it before yesterday. so take it away, kids, you're going to be awesome. ♪ ♪ there's something about the way that she looks when it's just faith. ♪ ♪ you know i'm going to ask you to dance right there in the mi

they're in mary poppins and sister act.

our report from nbc's anne thompson. >> reporter: it's curtain time at show 2,273 of "mary poppins.">> i guarantee you in 2:45 time you will without question have changed the lives of a whole group of people who are out there this afternoon. ♪ >> reporter: this is a performance for children with autism and their families. ♪ >> reporter: to make this event possible, the associate director changed the show. >> how many times in your show are you having to adjust the set? >> a lot. majorly. i would say in every scene. >> reporter: more than 40 audio and 200 visual cues were altered to tone down the lights which can disturb people with autism. >> it's a matter of level. >> reporter: working with specialists, the musical director went through every song. >> we spent time identifying where pitches of voices may simply get too high. >> reporter: they cut one musical number giving burt just seconds instead of five minutes to travel four stories from the stage to the ceiling. >> while the kids are watching the show go on, i'm in the elevator undressing and putting new clothes on in under a mi

. >> it's like a mary poppins bag. look at his face. >> it's a happy meal, right?> so then he goes back to the counter and starts asking, did you guys put this in my bag? >> i know it's not real. i just pulled this out of my bag. is this like a kids meal? >> that came out of your bag? >> this came out of my bag. >> that came out of your bag? >> i don't know how else to put it. >> is this a joke or something? >> i guess this is what a prankster magician does. >> yeah. this is fichick-fil-a. >> you can name restaurants by the decor? >> fast food detective. >> not again. >> that one's longer. >> one of the fast food chains, i like about them, they have the really thick straws. >> you get more drink in your mouth with each suck. >> yeah. >> this entire video is just under search minutes long. if you want to see the entire thing, head on over to our website, rightthisminute.com. >> i'm going to say that prank didn't suck. >>> if you like motorcycles like me or you like the show "sons of an anarchy," you may like this new discovery channel show called "the devil's ride."

. >> reporter: his world was the opposite of mary poppins. no spoonful of sugar for max.s imagination runs wild. >> and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are. >> reporter: do you think you would like to go where the wimd things are? for more than 50 years, kids have taken that sub lime journey with max. >> they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth. >> reporter: in wonder and in fright. >> and now, cried mas, let the wild rumpus start. >> reporter: for generations of kids and their kids, sendak's story has spoken to something wild inside each one of us. >> reporter: mauric sendak was born in brooklyn in 1928. a frail boy. gay and jewish. the depression and the holocaust, the backdrop to his youth. childhood had plenty of dark corners. >> childhood was a mess. >> reporter: sendak doesn't want to sugar coat childhood the way so many authors did. >> do not show the tattered edges of what life was like. but i remember what life was like, and i didn't know what else to write about.

leading team gifford, the talented stephanie lee who plays mary poppins on broadway. >> leading teamtly starring in "sister act" and has been in everything on tv. so glad to have you both here. first we're going to take a look back at both contestants' journeys. take a look. >> hi, i'm jillian and i'm 14 years old. ♪ the more they seem to change the more they stay the same ♪ >> first time i sang on the "today" show, i was so nervous. this contest means a lot. i'm excited to see where it goes. i didn't even expect to be -- to get this far. >> i'm christian an i'm 16 years old. ♪ don't you remember you told me you loved me baby ♪ >> to sing on "today" show stage for the first time was very nerve-racking but it was fun. i loved it and i was really nervous explaining the whole mix-up with the names. i want to say kathie lee -- >> why are you pointing at me? >> do you know which one kathie lee is. >> music means to me love, compassion, fun, purity. all of it. ♪ >> music means just about everything to me. >> i chose christian because i love his voice. i think he's very talented and christi

. >> reporter: maurice sendak's world was the opposite of mary poppins.o spoonful of sugar for little max who misbehaves as boys do and is promptly sent to bed. no supper. but his imagination runs wild. >> and he sailed off for night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year. to where the wild things are. >> do you think you'd like to go where the wild things are? >> reporter: for more than 50 years, kids have taken that sublime journey with max. >> they roared their terrible roars. >> and gnashed their terrible teeth. >> reporter: in wonder and in fright. >> and now, cried max -- >> let the wild rumpus start. >> reporter: for generations of kids and their kids, sendak's story has spoken to something wild inside each one of us. >> kids revel in any kind of emotion. it's physical. it's tantalizing. it's great. >> reporter: maurice sendak was born in brooklyn in 1928. a frail boy, gay and jewish. the depression and the holocaust a back drop to his youth. childhood for sendak had plenty of dark corners. >> saying to me what childhood was like, i

broadway, he will be joined by bill clinton at the same new york city theater that is home to mary poppinsmember the push from the obama campaign a chance to dine with the president and george clooney, now republicans are countering with a chance to dine with the donald and mitt. >>> chris christie said his state will ignore a federal ban and let people in atlantic city bet on sports. the government only allows sporting betting in four states. >>> president obama taking to the twitter yesterday to chat with regular folks. one of the questions coming about gridlock in congress. adam asked, what is the plan to make both sides see a cooperative compromise is the best way forward on all of these to-dos? the president answered, i've always said the best ideas don't come out of d.c., citizens need to push best ideas and put country ahead of politics. >>> as always, we have a foodie friday. the must-read is food and wine magazine's list of the best new barbeque restaurants in america. so if you're aren't grilling in the backyard this memorial day weekend, there are some delicious alternatives. up

>> we watched mary poppins, too. >> apparently some of these things do work and are being accepted into the pantheon of actual remedies. >> the pantheon. it's the hall of fame. all right. also ahead, busted! that's right jeff rossen is back with his roundup of internet capers caught on tape. teens out for a joy ride to a dramatic police chase to a heartless purse snatcher, jeff rossen has it all. >> okay. and fashionistas like ann are always looking forward, but these days it's about you know what? the past. when old is new again, is that what they say? >> check the pantheon. >> okay, oh, those pants she has on are inspired by the '60s and '70s. >> oh, look at her. >> we're going to take a look at it and have the latest styles. >> looks amazing. >> not everybody can wear those pants. >> david can wear them. >> i think david could wear them. >> just putting that out there. >> let's go inside now and get a check of the top stories from natalie at the news desk. >> good morning to you guys. in the news this morning, we begin with the latest jobs report out this morning, as the unemployment

>> hey, al, if you hold your umbrella like mary poppins you can watch the people behind you, so niceo, that's right. there you go. anyway, coming up next we're going to be hearing from ryan o'neal about his battle with cancer, and also his relationship with farrah fawcett and his children. that's coming up right after this. ke you breakfast. what? with magic. you are? see the egg? uh huh. so, look at the orange. now close your eyes. ♪ alakazaam! [ sighs ] you're good. and now i'm gonna make this flower bloom. presto. "love you lots." do you want to see it again? yes, i want to see it again! [ female announcer ] hallmark blooming expressions delivers your love again and again. same as becka's science fair... another mini-wheats day coming up! ummmm...you rock. right here! [ female announcer ] kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal is packed with fiber and nearly a day's worth of whole grains to help keep your kids full and focused. is packed with fiber and nearly a day's worth of whole grains ♪ is packed wpuppies.r and nearly a day's worth of whole grains they have a lot of growing up a