Producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher have announced the remaining casting for the eagerly anticipated Broadway production of Mary Poppins.
Joining previously-announced
Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee as
Mary Poppins and Bert, will be Tony-nominee Daniel Jenkins (
Big River, Big) as Mr. Banks, Tony-nominee
Rebecca Luker (
Nine, The Music Man) as Mrs. Banks, Jane Carr (
A Small Family Business) as Mrs. Brill,
Mark Price (
All Shook Up, Wonderful Town) as Robertson Ay, Cass Morgan (
Ring of Fire, Beauty and the Beast) as the Bird Woman,
Ruth Gottschall (
The Music Man, ...Forum) as Miss Andrew, and Michael McCarty (
Oklahoma!, 42nd Street) as Admiral Boom. Katherine Doherty and Delaney Moro will alternate in the role of Jane Banks.
Henry Hodges (
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,
Beauty and the Beast) and Alexander Scheitinger (
Beauty and the Beast, Medea) will alternate in the role of Michael Banks.
The ensemble will include: Eric B. Anthony,
Ann Arvia, Pam Bradley, Kristin Carbone,
Brian Collier, Nick Corley, Case Dillard, Nicolas Dromard, James Hindman, Suzanne Hylenski, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Matt Loehr,
Michelle Lookadoo, Tony Mansker,
Tyler Maynard,
Sean McCourt, Vasthy E. Mompoint,
Jesse Nager, Kathleen Nanni,
Megan Osterhaus,
Janelle Anne Robinson,
Rommy Sandhu,
Phillip Spaeth, Shekitra Starke, Catherine Walker, and Kevin Yee.
Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and
Cameron Mackintosh, begins performances on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at the New Amsterdam Theatre (Broadway at West 42nd Street) in preparation for a Thursday, November 16 opening night.
Mary Poppins continues in the second year of its record-breaking run at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End.
Based on P.L. Travers's cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film,
Mary Poppins 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.
Three-time Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre leads the award-winning creative team assembled for the musical, with co-direction and choreography by Olivier Award-winner Matthew Bourne.
Mary Poppins features set and costume design by Tony Award-winner Bob Crowley, co-choreography by Olivier Award-winner Stephen Mear, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and musical supervision by David Caddick.
"It took Walt Disney twenty years to make the film of
Mary Poppins, from the time he first tried to secure the film rights to its triumphant premiere in 1964. The film was an immediate and phenomenal success, earning universal acclaim. The film played to an estimated 200 million people when it was released, engendering extraordinary affection in its audiences, and has remained one of Disney's most enduring and best-loved films," state press notes.
Disney Theatrical Productions, a unit of Buena Vista Theatrical Group, operates under the direction of
Thomas Schumacher. Disney's hit productions of
Beauty and The Beast, The Lion King, and
Elton John & Tim Rice's
Aida, have been presented in 40 international productions that have been seen by over 60 million people worldwide – making Disney one of the world's largest producers of live theatre. Disney's newest musical,
Tarzan, recently opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Further information about productions can be found at
www.disneyonbroadway.com.
