MARY POPPINS Playbills Include SUPERNANNY Invitations

People opening up the playbills of the Broadway production of Mary Poppins will find inside a flyer soliciting them for their possible participation in SUPERNANNY, a reality TV show starring Jo Frost that helps parents deal with their tough-to-handle children.

The flyers, which will be distributed until Wednesday's performance, include information for interested parents on how to contact the show's producers. This synergistic theater and TV campaign makes sense for Disney, which owns both shows.

Mary Poppins recouped its entire Broadway investment in 52 weeks and firmly established itself as the most popular show from the 2006-2007 theatrical season. Consistently among the top-grossing shows on Broadway, the production will celebrate its two-year anniversary at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Sunday, November 16.

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 West End, a UK tour of Mary Poppins commenced earlier this summer. The UK tour is currently performing to critical acclaim in Birmingham, with additional dates booked for Edinburgh, Manchester and Cardiff through April 2009. Mary Poppins will later make its Australian debut at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney in October 2009.

Mary Poppins, a co-production by 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 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 Mary Poppins 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 byHoward Harrison, orchestrations by William David Brohn, music supervision by David Caddick, and music direction by Brad Haak.

Mary Poppins ticket prices range from $30-$120, and are available at DisneyOnBroadway.com, the New Amsterdam Theatre Box Office (214 West 42nd Street), Ticketmaster outlets, or by calling Ticketmaster's Disney on Broadway hotline at 866-870-2717. For group sales and information, please call 800-439-9000. Performance & holiday schedule varies, check online for current schedule (running time is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes.)

 

Photo of Mary Poppins understudy Megan Osterhaus and SUPERNANNY star Jo Frost by Linda Lenzi