MARY POPPINS Opens at The Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, 11/15

The West Coast premiere of "Mary Poppins" opens Sunday, November 15, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre for a limited engagement through February 7, 2010.

Great seats are still available for the Los Angeles engagement.

The entire creative team has reunited to bring this magical story of the world's most famous nanny to audiences across North America. Original Broadway stars, Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, will reprise their roles as Mary Poppins and Bert, respectively.

Joining Brown and Lee will be Karl Kenzler as George Banks, Megan Osterhaus as Winifred Banks, Valerie Boyle as Mrs. Brill, Andrew Keenan-Bolger 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 Katie Balen and Bailey Grey. Performances in the role of Michael Banks will be alternated between Bryce Baldwin and Carter Thomas.

Rounding out the cast are Tia Altinay, Carol Angeli, Gail Bennett, Kiara Bennett, Brandon Bieber, Troy Edward Bowles, Elizabeth Broadhurst, Michael Gerhart, Geoffrey Goldberg, Emily Harvey, Tiffany Howard, Kelly Jacobs, Wendy James, Justin Keyes, Sam Kiernan, Brian Letendre, Laird Mackintosh, Vanessa McMahan, Koh Mochizuki, Shua Potter, Dominic Roberts, Nick Sanchez, Q. Smith, Jesse Swimm and Tom Souhrada.

"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.

Consistently among the top-grossing shows on Broadway, "Mary Poppins" continues in its 3rd smash year at the New Amsterdam Theatre and recently celebrated its 1000th performance - a milestone reached by only a rare few number of shows in Broadway history. The Broadway production has grossed over $152 million to date and been seen by over 1.8 million theatregoers.

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 in summer 2008 and concluded its acclaimed run in Cardiff in April 2009. The Australian production of "Mary Poppins" will premiere in July 2010 at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne.

An open-ended run of "Mary Poppins" will take residence at the Circus Theatre in Scheveningen, Holland, outside of Amsterdam. The show will open in April 2010 at the Circus Theatre following "Tarzan's" record setting run there. "Mary Poppins" will be produced in Holland by Stage Entertainment in association with Disney and Cameron Mackintosh.

The Los Angeles engagement of "Mary Poppins" is by arrangement with Center Theatre Group and is part of CTG's 2009-2010 season at the Ahmanson Theatre, located at the Los Angeles Music Center.

"Mary Poppins" plays Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. There are no performances on Mondays. There are exceptions to this schedule: No public performance on Wednesday. December 9 (student performance only). Holiday schedule - Additional 2 p.m. performances on Wednesdays, November 25, December 23 and December 30; one performance only on Thursday, December 24 at 2 p.m. and one performance only on Thursday, December 31 at 6:30 p.m.; No performances on November 26, December 25 and January 1. Final week schedule - Additional performance on February 3 at 2 p.m.; No 6:30 p.m. performance on February 7.

Tickets for "Mary Poppins" are available by calling Center Theatre Group Audience Services at (213) 972-4400, in person at the Center Theatre Group box office located the Ahmanson Theatre or online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org.

Ticket prices for "Mary Poppins" range from $20 to $92. VIP/Premium Ticket Packages are also available at select performances for $135 and $150, and include premium seating and a complimentary souvenir program. Hot-Tix, priced at $20, are available and can be purchased in advance, or subject to availability, on the day of performance at the CTG box office (no checks). For the deaf community, call TDD (213) 680-4017 for tickets and information. Orders for groups of 15 or more may be placed by calling (213) 972-7231.

For more information, please visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org or www.MaryPoppinsTour.com.

Photo: Gavin Lee

Photo credit: Joan Marcus