'Mary Poppins' Celebrates 1st Anniversary Prepping for Parade

Mary Poppins celebrates its first anniversary on Broadway - today, November 16 - preparing to perform in the NBC/Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  For the Parade, which airs on Thanksgiving morning on NBC, from 9AM to 12PM EST, the cast of Mary Poppins, headed by Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins and Gavin Lee as Bert, will perform "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" during the first hour of the Parade, live from Herald Square.

Mary Poppins received seven 2007 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.  The musical also won two Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Gavin Lee) and Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (Bob Crowley), as well as a Theatre World Award (for Gavin Lee).

Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 16, 2006, and quickly proved to be a hit with audience members and critics alike.

The London production continues its record-setting run as it enters its third year at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End.

Based on P.L. Travers's 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.

Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre leads the award-winning creative team assembled for Mary Poppins 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, sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy, orchestrations by William David Brohn, music supervision by David Caddick, and music direction by Brad Haak.

Tickets for Mary Poppins are available at www.DisneyOnBroadway.com, the New Amsterdam Theatre Box Office, and all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling Ticketmaster's Disney on Broadway hotline at (212) 307-4747.  Prices range from $25 - $120.  For group sales and information please call (800) 439-9000. 

The performance schedule for the week of Thanksgiving is Tuesday, November 20 at 8pm; Wednesday, November 21 at 2pm and 8pm; no performance Thursday; Friday, November 23 at 2pm and 8pm; Saturday, November 24 at 2pm and 8pm; Sunday, November 25 at 3pm.