Disney's Mary Poppins Lands in Los Angeles

Disney's Mary Poppins Lands in Los Angeles
Hit Broadway Musical to be Presented in CTG's 2009-2010 Season a the Ahmanson Theatre

 

(March 25, 2008) Broadway's supercalifragilistic, award-winning hit MARY POPPINS will be presented in Los Angeles by the Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre of the Los Angeles Music Center in the 2009-2010 season, it was announced today by CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie and producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher.

 

MARY POPPINS will be presented in an exclusive limited engagement beginning November 2009.  Tickets for MARY POPPINS will be made available to subscribers of CTG�s 2009-2010 season before going on sale to the general public in mid-2009. 

 

�I am gigantically proud of MARY POPPINS continuing success and the opportunity to bring this show to West Coast audiences,� said Thomas Schumacher, President of the Disney Theatrical Group.  �On a personal note, it will be enormously gratifying to see our nanny take flight in a space that holds wonderful memories for me, having started my theatrical career at the Center Theatre Group.� 

 

�I am delighted to bring MARY POPPINS to the Ahmanson in conjunction with Disney,� said Cameron Mackintosh. �Over the years I have enjoyed many collaborations with the Center Theatre Group and this April my new production of �My Fair Lady�, which has been extremely well received all over America and been a huge hit in London, will open at the Ahmanson. Both productions are staged by two of Britain's greatest directors: �My Fair Lady� by Trevor Nunn and MARY POPPINS by Richard Eyre, with fabulous choreography by the ever inventive Matthew Bourne.

 

�MARY POPPINS has been a labor of love for me, ever since I first tried to get the rights 30 years ago,� continued Mackintosh. �In 1993, Pamela Travers finally gave me her approval and the outcome, developed in conjunction with my friend Thomas Schumacher, has been an enormous success in both London and on Broadway.  It is particularly thrilling now to bring Mary back home to the city where she first triumphed on film in 1964, as fresh and irresistible as ever."

 

 �CTG is honored to have been selected by two of the world�s leading theatrical producers � Cameron Mackintosh and Tom Schumacher � to present this superb work in Los Angeles,� said Michael Ritchie. �It is unusual for us to announce a production this early, a full year before tickets will go on sale, but there has been so much excitement around this production that we just couldn�t keep the news to ourselves. We at CTG are very proud to present this truly magical and highly theatrical musical. This is happy news for everyone in Los Angeles.�

 

Based on P.L. Travers� cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, MARY POPPINS features the Academy Award�-winning music and lyrics of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.  The stage production has been created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, by Academy Award�-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who has written the book, and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.

 

The musical�s entire original award-winning creative team will reunite for the North American tour of MARY POPPINS which begins at Chicago�s Cadillac Palace Theatre on March 25, 2009. Olivier Award-winning Richard Eyre directs with co-direction and choreography by Tony� and Olivier Award winner Matthew Bourne.  MARY POPPINS features set and costume design by Tony Award�-winner Bob Crowley, co-choreography by Olivier Award-winner Stephen Mear, lighting design by Howard Harrison, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and music supervision by David Caddick.

 

All information regarding casting, subscription, individual ticket pricing and performance schedules will be announced as it becomes available.

 

Michael Kuchwara of Associated Press raved about MARY POPPINS on Broadway: �It�s a lavish stage version that�s a wonder to behold, yet at its heart, MARY POPPINS is a family drama.  That this human and humane story shines through the dazzling special effects demonstrates the potency of its emotional impact.�  Clive Barnes of the New York Post said, �Film musicals don�t normally translate well into stage versions, but MARY POPPINS doesn�t simply translate � it transcends.� And Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal added, �I�ll be surprised if it doesn�t run for at least a century.�

 

-- Posted March 28, 2008