MARY POPPINS' Banks Children Visit Chicago Convention Center

The Banks children from Mary Poppins "popped in" on Wednesday, March 11 to make an appearance at the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau's Annual Meeting of Membership Luncheon at McCormick Place Convention Center. Backstage, Chicagoan Abigail Droeger (Jane Banks) and Christopher Flaim (Michael Banks) met Mayor Richard M. Daley. Mary Poppins began previews March 11 and will open on March 25, 2009 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre for a limited engagement through July 12, 2009.

Broadway In Chicago and producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher are delighted to announce that Mary Poppins will be extending its stayat the Cadillac Palace Theatre through July 12, 2009.

Tickets for newly announced performances from May 20 to July 12, 2009 will go on sale March 13, 2009 at 10 a.m. Individual tickets for performances are available for as low as $23. In addition, Mary Poppins will have special Sunday evening performances at 6:30 p.m. throughout the Chicago engagement.

The North American National Tour of Mary Poppins commences in Chicago on March 11, 2009 with preview performances. The show opens on March 25, 2009 with the two originalBroadway stars, Ashley Brown as "Mary Poppins" and Gavin Lee as "Bert." Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened on Broadwayon November 16, 2006. 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 JulianFellowes, who has written the book, and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles andAnthony Drewe, who have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.

Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre leads the award-winning creative team, 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.

Consistently among the top-grossing shows on Broadway, Mary Poppins celebrated its two-year anniversary at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Sunday, November 16, 2008.Simultaneously, the show's popularity grows around the globe. Following a successful three-year run (December 2004 - January 2008) at the Prince Edward Theatre on London's WestEnd, a U.K. tour of Mary Poppins commenced in summer 2008 and is currently performing inManchester, with additional dates booked in Cardiff through April 2009.

Mary Poppins will later make its Australian debut at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in October 2009. Mary Poppins will play the Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.) Wednesdays at2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m.and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Please note there will be 7:30 p.m.Tuesday performances on March 24, March 31, June 30 and July 7.

There will not be 2:00 p.m. Wednesday matinee performances on March 11 and March 25. There will not be 6:30 p.m. Sunday performances on March 15, March 22, April 5 and July 12. Ticket prices range from $23 to $90. Premium Ticket Packages, which include prime seatlocations and a commemorative souvenir program, are also available and range in price from $123to $150.

Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St. and 18 W. Monroe St.); the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (312) 902-1400; all Ticketmaster retail locations (including Hot Tix and select Carson Pirie Scott, Coconuts and fye stores); and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Tickets are available to groups of 20 or more by calling (312) 977-1710. For more information please visit www.MaryPoppinsTour.com or www.BroadwayInChicago.com