MARY POPPINS 45th Anniversary DVD with Stage Related Extras Released 1/27

Disney Theatrical Productions (DTP) today announced that The Walt Disney Studios will celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the 1964 classic film, Mary Poppins, with a 2-disc special edition DVD featuring brand new bonus materials from the hit stage production based on the popular film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke and on the P.L. Travers books.

To be released on January 27, 2009, the DVD set will feature a new 45-minute documentary, "Mary Poppins: From Page to Stage" that takes audiences behind the scenes for a close look at the creation of the stage musical produced by DTP and Cameron Mackintosh. Filmed in the UK, France and the United States, the documentary is a series of intimate conversations with many of the stage versions' creators including producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher, composers George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, Richard Sherman, who co-wrote music and lyrics for the original film and set and costume designer Bob Crowley. The documentary also features a roundtable discussion at the world-famous Sardi's restaurant in New York City between Schumacher and actors Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee, who originated the roles of Mary Poppins and Bert in the Broadway production.

Another extra from the stage version is the musical number "Step In Time" shot in its entirety onstage at the New Amsterdam Theatre, the show's Broadway home since 2006. The number showcases showstopping technical effects, as Bert and his chimneysweeps dance with Mary and the Banks children over the rooftops of London. The performance features Brown, Lee and the full Broadway company performing the never-before-filmed popular number from the show, also downloadable as an MP3 audio file. 

Mary Poppins is currently running on Broadway as the show's popularity grows around the globe. Following a successful three-year run at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End, a UK tour commenced this summer and is garnering critical and box office success. In April of 2010, an open-ended run of Mary Poppins will launch at the Circustheater in Scheveningen, Holland, outside of Amsterdam. Holland will mark the fifth production of Mary Poppins, with a sixth planned for Australia in 2010. Last month, a new local production opened in Gothenburg, Sweden, and upcoming engagements are scheduled for Denmark, Finland and Hungary.

As previously announced, original Broadway stars Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) and Gavin Lee (Bert), will reprise their roles, headlining the highly anticipated Mary Poppins North American tour, scheduled to begin performances at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre on March 11, 2009. The creative team will reunite to bring this magical story of the world's most famous nanny to audiences across the US and Canada. After Chicago, the tour is scheduled to play The State Theatre in Cleveland, The Fox Theatre in St. Louis, and The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, with additional cities, venues and dates to be announced.

DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS (DTP), a division of Disney Theatrical Group, operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world's most successful commercial theatre enterprises. Reaching a global annual audience of more than 10 million people in over 40 countries, DTP produces and licenses Broadway musicals around the world including Grammy®, Tony® and Olivier-award winning The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida, TARZAN ® and Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh which is about to launch its national touring engagement. Its most recent Broadway production, The Little Mermaid, debuted in 2007 and immediately became a Broadway sensation. That same year, DTP launched the professional touring stage version of Disney's High School Musical. In addition, DTP licenses musical titles for local schools and community productions through Musical Theatre International and on its recently launched website, DisneyMusicals.com.

Disney Theatrical Group also delivers live entertainment around the world through its partnership with Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE!, including High School Musical: The Ice Tour and Playhouse Disney Live!