MARY POPPINS North American Tour Wins Saturn Award

The record-breaking Los Angeles engagement of MARY POPPINS was honored at the 36th annual Saturn Awards on Thursday, June 24 as the "Best Local Stage Production: Fantasy/Musical" at a ceremony held at the Castaway in Burbank, CA. This is the first year that the Saturn Awards, which are the official honor of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, has recognized theatre. On hand to accept the award was Disney legend Richard Sherman who, along with his brother Robert, composed more than 150 Disney songs including those from the film and stage production of MARY POPPINS.

Throughout their nearly 50-year career, Richard and Robert Sherman were the recipients of two Academy Awards®, three Grammy® Awards, 24 gold and platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Sherman Brothers, who's iconic song "It's A Small World" is one of the world's most translated and performed songs, were recently bestowed with Disneyland's highest honor, a tribute window on Main Street, U.S.A.

The 13-week Los Angeles premiere engagement of MARY POPPINS played at the Ahmanson Theater from November 13, 2009 through February 7, 2010. During the engagement, the production played 100 performances, entertained over 188,000 theater patrons, grossed $13.7 million at the box office and achieved the milestone of being Los Angeles' highest grossing theatrical event in 2009.

The MARY POPPINS North American tour is currently playing in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the Broward Center through June 27. Following the Ft. Lauderdale engagement, the tour will begin performances at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. on July 1 and will play for eight weeks through August 22, 2010. The current tour schedule is listed below. For more information and dates, please visit MaryPoppins.com.

The MARY POPPINS North American tour celebrated its first anniversary on March 25, 2010 and announced that it had achieved the milestone of being the most successful touring theatrical event in 2009. Original UK touring company star, Caroline Sheen, reprises her role as "Mary Poppins" while original London and Broadway star, Gavin Lee, stars as "Bert."

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 is one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge from London or New York in recent years. Worldwide to date, MARY POPPINS has grossed over $393 million and has welcomed over 5.3 million guests.

Consistently among Broadway's top-grossing shows, MARY POPPINS has played over 1500 performances since its official opening on November 16, 2006. Now in its fourth smash year at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, the Broadway production has been seen by over two million theatergoers and grossed over $180 million to date, recouping its initial investment within 52 weeks of its premiere.

Not only do the Broadway show and the North American tour draw huge audiences, but the show's popularity also reaches around the globe. MARY POPPINS will premiere two major international productions in 2010: an open-ended run began April 11 at the Circus Theatre in Scheveningen, Holland, outside of Amsterdam (presented by Stage Entertainment in association with Disney and Cameron Mackintosh) and an Australian production opens July 29 at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne. Additionally, during 2010 MARY POPPINS opens in Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with plans already underway for future productions in Israel, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Korea, Canada and Japan. Following a successful three-year run in 2008 at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End, a U.K. tour of MARY POPPINS commenced in summer 2008 and concluded its acclaimed run in Cardiff, Wales in April 2009.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULE THROUGH JULY 2011
CITY/VENUE Performance Dates
Ft. Lauderdale - Broward Center for the Performing Arts June 9 - 27, 2010
Washington, D.C. - Kennedy Center Opera House July 1 - Aug 22, 2010
Charlotte - Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Aug 25 - Sept 12, 2010
Indianapolis - Murat Theatre Sept 23 - Oct 10, 2010
Buffalo - Shea's Performing Arts Center October 14 - 31, 2010
East Lansing - Wharton Center for Performing Arts November 3 - 21, 2010
Des Moines - Civic Center of Greater Des Moines Nov 26 - Dec 12, 2010
Detroit - Opera House Dec 16, 2010 - Jan 2, 2011
Pittsburgh - Benedum Center Jan 5 - 23, 2011
Omaha - Orpheum Theatre Jan 27 - Feb 13, 2011
Boston - Opera House Feb 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