Noortje Herlaar Wins Role as Dutch Mary Poppins

By: Jeff Dennhardt Jan. 25, 2010

24-year old Noortje Herlaar has won the role of Mary Poppins after competing on a Dutch television show aimed at finding actor to fill the role. Fans came out in droves to vote for Herlaar, who won the competition.

Herlaar has studied theatre at the Muziektheater Academy of the Rotterdam Conservatory and has appeared in musicals such as Into the Woods, The Apple Tree, A New Brain, and Dirty Dancing.

Herlaar will make her premiere when Mary Poppins opens at the Fortis Circustheatre in The Hague on April 11th.

MARY POPPINS is currently running on both Broadway and the West End. The Broadway run stars Laura Michelle Kelly in the title role and Christian Borle as Bert. The Broadway cast also features Jeff Binder as Mr. Banks; Rebecca Luker as Mrs. Banks, Ann Arvia as Bird Woman, Mark Price as Robertson Ay, Ruth Gottschall as Miss Andrew and Michael McCarty as Admiral Boom. Juliette Allen Angelo, Kelsey Fowler and Cassady Leonard alternate as Jane Banks; Jeremiah Kissane, Matthew Schechter and Andrew Shipman alternate as Michael Banks.

Among Broadway's top-grossing shows, MARY POPPINS recently celebrated three years at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 16. The musical has played over 1275 performances since its official opening in 2006. MARY POPPINS has been seen by two million theatergoers and grossed over $ 159 million to date, recouping its initial Broadway investment within 52 weeks of its premiere.

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. The show includes 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; Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre; and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.

MARY POPPINS ticket prices range from $31.50 - $121.50 and are available at www.DisneyOnBroadway.com, the New Amsterdam Theatre Box Office (214 West 42nd Street), Ticketmaster outlets, or by calling Ticketmaster's Disney on Broadway hotline at 866-870-2717 (running time is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes).

For more information visit www.DisneyonBroadway.com.