Richard M. Sherman, who with his brother Robert B. Sherman, wrote more motion-picture musical song scores than any other songwriting team in film history, including the music and lyrics of the Walt Disney classic "Mary Poppins," will be the special guest tonight, January 10 at the opening night of an 11-day return engagement of the Sing-A-Long version of the film at Hollywood's legendary El Capitan Theatre. Sherman's appearance was announced today by Lylle Breier, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Special Events for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Audiences are encouraged to dress as their favorite characters from the film and to lend their voices to the classic soundtrack (as the words to the songs are projected up on the screen). As an added bonus for the opening night show, (Friday, January 10th at 7:45 pm), there will be a costume contest along with special opening night surprises. El Capitan guests may also go "Behind the scenes" of the making of "Mary Poppins" with rarely seen unit photography from the Disney Archives and a special "Walking on Cherry Tree Lane" photo opportunity on display throughout the engagement.
The El Capitan Theatre will host Tiny Tot Tuesday on January 14th at 10:00 am. During this special screening of the film, parents and small children can enjoy the movie in a Tiny Tot-friendly way - complete with lights dimmed rather than out and reduced sound levels.
Daily showtimes are 10:00 am, 1:15 pm, 4:30 pm, and 7:45pm. Special General Admission ticket price of $10 includes popcorn. VIP price of $20 includes a reserved seat, popcorn and drink (for all ages). Tickets are available at the box office, on-line at www.elcapitantickets.com or by calling 1-800-DISNEY6.
Commenting on the announcement, Breier said, "We couldn't think of a better way to start the New Year than with a return engagement of the Sing-along 'Mary Poppins.' El Capitan guests always have a real blast singing along with Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and David Tomlinson. Here's a rare opportunity to see this great film digitally projected on the big screen, and to add your own voice to one of the greatest soundtracks of all-time."
Originally released in 1964, "Mary Poppins" represented the pinnacle of Walt Disney's filmmaking and storytelling career, and the film went on to receive a supercalifragilistic 13 Oscar nominations. It won Academy Awards for Best Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee"), Best Original Musical Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.
Based on the classic characters and stories of P. L. Travers, Disney's screen version of "Mary Poppins," follows the fantastic adventures of a magical English nanny who arrives at the Banks household in answer to a letter from Jane and Michael. Mary, and her chimneysweep friend, Bert, turn things upside down as they teach the children how to laugh and have fun, and in the process show the parents about the things that matter most in life. From the rooftops of London to a jolly holiday in the English countryside (complete with penguin waiters), "Mary Poppins" is sure to delight audience of all ages and all generations.
El Capitan guests can add their own voices to such musical favorites as "Spoonful of Sugar," "Step in Time," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Jolly Holiday" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite," among others.
Released from the Disney Vault in December in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, creative visionary Walt Disney's classic "Mary Poppins" shines for the first time on Blu-ray Combo Pack & HD Digital.
