Stephen Mear News

The San Antonio premiere of MARY POPPINS opens tonight, Friday, September 30 at 8 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre as part of the Cadillac Broadway in San Antonio 2011-12 season.

The MARY POPPINS North American Tour continues to fly high, celebrating two major milestones during its second year on the road.

The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre smash hit Gershwin musical CRAZY FOR YOU will transfer to London's West End, opening at the Novello Theatre on Saturday 8 October. Cameron Mackintosh, who was full of praise when he saw the show in Regent's Park, is thrilled to be able to play host to the production in one of his theatres. CRAZY FOR YOU reunites director Timothy Sheader and choreographer Stephen Mear, who were responsible for the multi-award winning production of Hello, Dolly!.

The Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Gershwin musical CRAZY FOR YOU will transfer to London's West End, opening at the Novello Theatre on Friday 7 October.

According to the Daily Mail, the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production of Crazy For You, starring Clare Foster and Sean Palmer, will transfer to the West End's Novello Theatre- taking the place of Betty Blue Eyes.

MARY POPPINS, part of Broadway/San Diego's 2011-2012 35th Anniversary Season, is playing through Sunday, August 21st, at the San Diego Civic Theatre. 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 six productions of the show have grossed over $521 million, welcomed 7 million guests and cumulatively run 11.5 years. The musical is the winner of 36 major theatre awards around the globe, including Tony®, Olivier and Evening Standard awards. In the video below, Mary Poppins herself, Steffanie Leigh chats about taking on the iconic role.

Broadway In Chicago and producers Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh announced today that tickets will go on sale to the public for the long-awaited return production of MARY POPPINS on Sunday, August 14, 2011 at 10 a.m.

Broadway In Chicago and producers Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh announced today that tickets will go on sale to the public for the long-awaited return production of MARY POPPINS on Sunday, August 14, 2011 at 10 a.m.

Last night at the 10th annual Helpmann Awards celebrating excellence in the performing arts, Australia's equivalent of the Tony® Awards, MARY POPPINS set a new Helpmann record, winning eight awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical for Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne and Best Choreography in a Musical for Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear. Additional winners were Verity Hunt-Ballard for Best Female Actor in a Musical; Matt Lee for Best Actor in a Musical; Philip Quast for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical; Stephen Brooker and Michael Tyack for Best Music Direction; Peter Grubb for Best Sound Design.

The 2011 Helpmann Awards® Ceremony was held earleir today. Monday 1 August at Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House, hosted by Jonathan Biggins will Host the Awards Ceremony.

Cadillac Broadway in San Antonio and producers Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh announced today that tickets for the long-awaited production of MARY POPPINS will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m., Friday, July 15.

On Sunday 9 October 2011, for one night only, there will be a special one-off concert performance of Stiles and Drewe's new musical SOHO CINDERS at the Novello Theatre, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. The concert will feature an all-star cast, including Kerry Ellis, Hannah Waddingham, Beverly Rudd, David Bedella, and Sandi Toksvig

Based on the popular children's book series by P.L. Travers that Disney shaped into an even more renowned movie musical, the stage iteration's current touring company has temporarily taken up residence at the Segerstrom Center for the Performing Arts in Orange County for an extended four-week limited engagement through August 7. Joyfully engaging but oddly peculiar, this stage version of MARY POPPINS--which weaves peppy elements from the much-beloved Disney movie with less-bouyant passages from Travers' darker, moodier books--is easily likable, but can be challenging to really love.

The Orange County premiere of MARY POPPINS opens tonight, Friday, July 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Segerstrom Center for the Arts for a limited engagement of four weeks through Sunday, August 7.

The annual Helpmann Awards® recognise distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia's vibrant live performance sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, comedy, opera, classical music, theatre, dance and physical theatre. The Helpmann Awards also incorporates the JC Williamson Award for outstanding contribution to the Australian live performance industry.

The Portland premiere of MARY POPPINS opens tonight, Friday, June 24, 2011 at 7:30pm at the Keller Auditorium for a limited engagement of three weeks through Sunday, July 10, 2011. MARY POPPINS plays Tuesday through Friday evenings at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm and Sundays at 1:00pm and 6:30pm. 'We're very excited that Mary Poppins has flown into town and that audiences in Portland will have the opportunity to experience this blockbuster musical' said Portland Opera General Director, Christopher Mattaliano. 'Tickets are on sale and great seats are still available.'

Everybody's been talking about the animatronic pig which cost a reported £100,000 for Cameron Mackintosh's new musical comedy BETTY BLUE EYES, based on the Handmade Film 'A PRIVATE FUNCTION' by Alan Bennett and Malcolm Mowbray. BETTY BLUE EYES is the first original musical Cameron Mackintosh has produced in ten years. It started previews at the Novello Theatre in the West End on 19 March and opened on 13 April. Reelkandi TV got the first look at the production highlights and now BroadwayWorld brings you a glimpse of the exciting production below!

Artistic director Timothy Sheader will direct George and Ira Gershwin's hit musical comedy, Crazy for You as the final show in the 2011 season at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre from 28 July - 10 September. The creative team from the multi-award winning production of Hello, Dolly! reunite as Stephen Mear choreographs and Peter McKintosh designs. Gareth Valentine returns as the musical director after joining the Open Air Theatre last season for Sondheim's Into the Woods.

The Sacramento premiere of MARY POPPINS opens Friday, June 3 at 8:00 p.m. at the Community Center Theater for a limited engagement of three weeks through Sunday, June 19, 2011. MARY POPPINS plays Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m. and Thursday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m., with an additional performance on Sunday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m. 'Thus far sales have exceeded our expectations, but there are still great seats available' said Richard Lewis, executive producer of California Musical Theatre.

The Sacramento premiere of MARY POPPINS opens tonight, Friday, June 3 at 8:00 p.m. at the Community Center Theater for a limited engagement of three weeks through Sunday, June 19, 2011.