MARY POPPINS Tour Sets New Canadian Box Office Record For 2nd Week

For the second week in a row, the North American tour of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's MARY POPPINS broke the Canadian record for highest single-week gross for a theatrical production.

The Toronto premiere engagement grossed $2,098,722.50 CDN during the nine performance week ending January 8, 2012. The previous record was set just last week when MARY POPPINS grossed $2,088,824.50 CDN. After flying high for nine weeks in Toronto, the hit Broadway musical played its final performance on Sunday, January 8 at The Princess of Wales Theatre where it entertained more than 130,000 people during 71 performances and grossed approximately $13 million CDN at the box office.

It is estimated that MARY POPPINS generated a $45 million economic benefit to Toronto from travel, hotels, restaurants, parking and other businesses patronized by both theatergoers and production staff. This figure is based upon a report from the Touring Broadway League, the official trade organization for Broadway and their North American Tours. The report states that on average, Broadway tours contribute to the local metropolitan area's economy an economic impact 3.5 times the gross ticket sales.

"From the moment I saw the first out-of-town tryout of MARY POPPINS in Plymouth, UK, I knew that this production would be beloved in Toronto," said David Mirvish, Producer of Mirvish Productions. "I'm so happy to be proven correct. Toronto audiences have embraced MARY POPPINS like they have embraced only a few other shows. It's even more special to me as it came to us from two of our favourite partners, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, with whom we have worked on many other successful productions. Thank you to them for giving us this practically perfect show."

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 $644 million and welcomed 9.3 million guests. The musical is the winner of 44 major theatre awards around the globe, including Tony®, Olivier, Helpmann and Evening Standard awards.

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 has played to two million delighted theatergoers in 34 cities to date.

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 Daniel Bowling.

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. MARY POPPINS is the only show from the 2006-2007 theatrical season still in performance.
The MARY POPPINS North American tour has garnered continuous critical praise and achieved box office success since its launch in Chicago in March 2009.

MARY POPPINS can also be seen Sydney, Australia (at the Capitol Theatre). Productions of MARY POPPINS have also been mounted in Finland, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

For more information, please visit MaryPoppins.com