MARY POPPINS Flies Into Des Moines 11/26-12/12

The Des Moines premiere of MARY POPPINS begins performances Friday, November 26 at 2 p.m. at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines for a limited engagement of three weeks through Sunday, December 12. The official press opening night is Saturday, November 27 at 7:30 p.m.

With four productions currently running on three continents, MARY POPPINS is one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge from London or New York in recent years. Worldwide to date, the show has grossed over $457 million and welcomed 6.4 million guests.

The entire original creative team has reunited to bring this magical story of the world's most famous nanny to audiences around North America. The MARY POPPINS North American Tour began performances on March 25, 2009 and achieved the milestone of being the most successful touring theatrical event of the year.

Original UK Tour star, Caroline Sheen, will reprise her role as "Mary Poppins" while original Broadway company member, Nicolas Dromard, will assume the role of "Bert".

Joining Sheen and Dromard will be Laird Mackintosh as "George Banks", Blythe Wilson as "Winifred Banks", Rachel Izen as "Mrs. Brill", Dennis Moench as "Robertson Ay", Ellen Harvey as "Miss Andrew", Mary VanArsdel as "The Bird Woman", and Mike O'Carroll as "Admiral Boom." Performances in the role of "Jane Banks" will be alternated between Camille Mancuso and Paige Simunovich. Performances in the role of "Michael Banks" will be alternated between Talon Ackerman and Cade Canon Ball.

Knoxville, Iowa native Eric Hatch makes his North American Tour debut as a member of the ensemble. Mr. Hatch has appeared in the Broadway productions of West Side Story, Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins and The Pirate Queen.

Rounding out the cast are Jacob ben Widmar, Kiara Bennett, Elizabeth Broadhurst, Jonathan Brody, Debra Cardona, Eric Coles, Carol Angeli Dillard, Case Dillard, Elizabeth Earley, Steffi Garrard, Geoffrey Goldberg, Mark Harapiak, Eric Hatch, Garett Hawe, Tiffany Howard, Kelly Jacobs, Sam Kiernan, Stephanie Martignetti, Koh Mochizuki, Michael Dean Morgan, Shua Potter, Nick Sanchez, Q. Smith, Jesse Swimm, and Jen Taylor.

MARY POPPINS, a co-production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened on Broadway on November 16, 2006. Based on P.L. Travers' cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, MARY POPPINS the stage play 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, with co-direction and choreography by Tony® and Olivier Award winner Matthew Bourne. MARY POPPINS features set and costume design by TonyÒ 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. The tour's creative team includes Tour Director Anthony Lyn, Associate Choreographer Geoffrey Garrett, and Music Director James Dodgson.

ABOUT MARY POPPINS WORLDWIDE
MARY POPPINS received its worldwide premiere at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End in December 2004. Following its successful three-year London run, the production launched an acclaimed U.K. tour.

The Broadway production of MARY POPPINS officially opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 16, 2006, recouping its initial Broadway investment within 52 weeks of its premiere in 2006. MARY POPPINS is the only show that opened during the 2006-2007 theatrical season still in performance.

The MARY POPPINS North American tour has also garnered continuous critical praise and achieved box office success since its launch in Chicago in March 2009.

In addition to Broadway and North America, MARY POPPINS can also be seen at the Circus Theatre in Scheveningen, Holland, outside of Amsterdam, and in Melbourne, Australia at Her Majesty's Theatre. Productions of MARY POPPINS have also been mounted in Sweden, Finland and Denmark, and a new production opens in the Czech Republic next month. Future productions are planned for Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Israel, Japan, Mexico and South America.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULE THROUGH JULY 2011

Des Moines - Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
November 26 - December 12, 2010

Detroit - Opera House
December 16, 2010 - January 2, 2011

Pittsburgh - Benedum Center
January 5 - 23, 2011

Omaha - Orpheum Theatre
January 27 - February 13, 2011

Boston - Opera House
February 17 - March 20, 2011

Philadelphia - Academy of Music
March 23 - April 17, 2011

Columbus - Ohio Theatre
April 20 - May 8, 2011

Seattle - Paramount Theatre
May 12 - 29, 2011

Sacramento - Community Center Theatre
June 2 - 19, 2011

Portland - Keller Auditorium
June 22 - July 10, 2011

Costa Mesa - Orange County Performing Arts Center
July 14 - 31, 2011

In Des Moines, MARY POPPINS will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. Weekend matinee performance times are Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. There will also be a special weekday matinee on Friday, November 26 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices start as low as $20. VIP Ticket Packages, which include prime seat locations and a commemorative souvenir program, are also available at select performances. Tickets are available at the Civic Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, and online at CivicCenter.org. To charge tickets, call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Orders for groups of 15 or more may be placed by calling 515-246-2321.

The Des Moines engagement of MARY POPPINS is presented by arrangement with the Civic Center and is special presentation of the Willis Broadway Series.

For more information, please visit MaryPoppins.com

The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines
The Civic Center of Greater Des Moines is a private not-for-profit corporation celebrating over 30 years of presenting the performing arts to Iowa and the surrounding states. It is the presenter of major Broadway and educational touring companies, performers and groups, and is the performing home of many local and regional groups, including the Des Moines Symphony and StageWest. All performances of the Broadway Series are supported by Willis Auto Campus. All performances at the Civic Center's Temple Theater are supported by Prairie Meadows. All performances of the Family Series are supported by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield.