Laura Michelle Kelly Returns to MARY POPPINS

Olivier Award winner Laura Michelle Kelly, The West End's original MARY POPPINS, returns to the Broadway company tonight (8pm) at the New Amsterdam Theatre. She re-joins Tony Award nominee Gavin Lee, who originated the role of Bert in the West End and on Broadway.

The cast also currently features Karl Kenzler as George Banks, Megan Osterhaus as Winifred Banks, Valerie Boyle as Mrs. Brill, Ann Arvia as Bird Woman, Shua Potter as Robertson Ay, Ruth Gottschall as Miss Andrew and Ed Dixon as Admiral Boom. Alternating in the role of Jane Banks are Rozi Baker, Brigid Harrington and Kara Oates; alternating in the role of Michael Banks are Lewis Grosso, David Gabriel Lerner and Anthony Scarpone-Lambert.

Laura Michelle Kelly returns to Broadway after earning rave reviews and garnering the Olivier Award for her performance as the original Mary Poppins in the 2004 West End premiere of the show. Kelly made her Broadway debut as one of Tevye's daughters in the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof with Alfred Molina. She made her feature film debut as Lucy Barker opposite Johnny Depp in the musical Sweeney Todd, directed by Tim Burton (2007). Kelly's other West End credits include starring opposite Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum in the Old Vic's acclaimed production of Speed-the-Plow, Eliza in My Fair Lady, Galadrial in Lord of the Rings, Sophie in Mamma Mia, Swallow in Whistle Down the Wind, Eponine in Les Miserables, Wendy in Peter Pan and an 'enchanted object' in Disney's Beauty and the Beast at age 17. Kelly appears with the permission of Actors' Equity Association (AEA). The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

A co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, this stage production is based on P.L. Travers' cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film and includes the film's Academy Award®-winning music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The stage production was created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, by Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who wrote the book; Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre; and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.

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 12 years. The musical is the winner of 36 major theatre awards around the globe, including Tony®, Olivier and Evening Standard awards.

The Broadway production of MARY POPPINS officially opened on November 16, 2006, recouping its initial Broadway investment within 52 weeks of its premiere. MARY POPPINS is the only show from the 2006-2007 theatrical season still running.

MARY POPPINS received its worldwide premiere at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End in December 2004. Following its successful three-year London run, the production launched an acclaimed U.K. tour.

The MARY POPPINS North American tour has garnered continuous critical praise and achieved box office success since its launch in Chicago in March 2009. MARY POPPINS can also be seen in Scheveningen, Netherlands (outside of Amsterdam at the Circus Theatre) and Sydney, Australia (at the Capitol Theatre). Productions of MARY POPPINS have also been mounted in Finland, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

For tickets, show information and performance schedule, visit www.MaryPoppins.com.

 

Photo Credit: Monica Simoes