Rachel Wallace, Nicolas Dromard to Lead MARY POPPINS at the Ahmanson

Center Theatre Group and producers Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh are pleased to announce full casting for the award-winning musical "Mary Poppins" at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. "Mary Poppins" begins performances August 9 and continues through September 2, 2012, as a bonus option to the 2011-2012 Ahmanson season. Press Opening Night is set for Friday, August 10 at 7:30 p.m.

Rachel Wallace will star as Mary Poppins while original Broadway company member Nicolas Dromard will assume the role of Bert. Joining them will be Michael Dean Morgan as George Banks, Elizabeth Broadhurst as Winifred Banks, Tregoney Shepherd as Mrs. Brill, Blake Segal as Robertson Ay, Q. Smith as Miss Andrew and The Bird Woman, and Ryan Hilliard as Admiral Boom and the Bank Chairman. Performances in the role of Jane Banks will be alternated between Marissa Ackerman and Cherish Myers. Performances in the role of Michael Banks will be alternated between Zach Timson and Zachary Mackiewicz.

Rounding out the cast are Benn Atkin, Danielle Benton, Elizabeth Ann Berg, Lindsey Bliven, Ian Campayno, Ben Cherry, Keyy Conte, Emily Cramer, Sean Patrick Doyle, Andrew Eckert, Jordan Grubb, Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua, Con O'Shea-Creal, James Patterson, Tonya Thompson, James Tolbert, Paige Williams, Minami Yusui, Elizabeth Earley, Billy Griffin, Annie Petersmeyer and Stephen Roberts.

Rachel Wallace was recently seen on stage in Itamar Moses and Michael Friedman's "Fortress of Solitude," "Threepenny Opera," "Beautiful Girls," "Sondheim: A Birthday Celebration" with Lonny Price and Paul Gemignani at Lincoln Center and "A Christmas Carol." Nicolas Dromardwas a member of the original Broadway company of "Mary Poppins" and recently played the role of Fiyero in the San Francisco production of "Wicked." Originally from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Dromard has also appeared in the Broadway productions of "The Boy From Oz" and "Oklahoma!" and originated roles in the Canadian productions of "Mamma Mia!" and "Hairspray." Dromard also appeared in stage productions at Stratford Festival of Canada and the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

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 more than two and a half million delighted theatregoers in over 40 cities to date.

"Mary Poppins" previously played a record-breaking run at the Ahmanson Theatre November 2009 - February 2010. The musical became Los Angeles' highest grossing theatrical event of 2009, grossing $13.7 million at the box office and entertaining over 188,000 theatregoers during the 13-week engagement.

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.

"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.

Tickets for the return of "Mary Poppins" at the Ahmanson Theatre start at $20 and are currently on sale. Tickets may be purchased at CenterTheatreGroup.org, the Center Theatre Group box office located at the Ahmanson Theatre, or by calling (213) 972-4400.