MARY POPPINS North American Tour Opens Tonight in Washington DC

The Washington, DC engagement of Mary Poppins opens tonight, Wednesday, July 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Opera House for a limited engagement of eight weeks through Sunday, August 22. Mary Poppins plays Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m., with an additional performance on Wednesday, August 18 at 1:30 p.m. There will be no evening performance on August 22. Great seats are still available for each performance.

The entire original creative team has reunited to bring this magical story of the world's most famous nanny to audiences around North America. Since the tour's launch in Chicago in March 2009, Mary Poppins has earned continuous critical praise and box-office success.
Original UK Tour star, Caroline Sheen, will reprise her role as "Mary Poppins" while original London and Broadway star, Gavin Lee, will assume the role of "Bert."

Joining Sheen and Lee will be Laird Mackintosh as "George Banks," Blythe Wilson as "Winifred Banks," Rachel Izen as "Mrs. Brill," Dennis Moench as "Robertson Ay," Ellen Harvey as "Miss Andrew," Mary VanArsdel as "The Bird Woman," and Mike O'Carroll as "Admiral Boom." Performances in the role of "Jane Banks" will be alternated between Kelsey Fowler and Bailey Grey. Performances in the role of "Michael Banks" will be alternated between Bryce Baldwin and Carter Thomas.
Rounding out the cast are Carol Angeli, Jacob ben Widmar, Kiara Bennett, Troy Edward Bowles, Elizabeth Broadhurst, Jonathan Brody, Debra Cardona, Case Dillard, Elizabeth Earley, Steffi Garrard, Michael Gerhart, Geoffrey Goldberg, Eric Hatch, Garett Hawe, Tiffany Howard, Kelly Jacobs, Sam Kiernan, Stephanie Martignetti, Koh Mochizuki, Shua Potter, Dominic Roberts, Nick Sanchez, Q. Smith, Jesse Swimm, Tom Souhrada and Jen Taylor.

Mary Poppins, a co-production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened on Broadway on November 16, 2006. Based on P.L. Travers' cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins the stage play 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.

Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre leads the award-winning creative team, with co-direction and choreography by Tony® and 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, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and music supervision by David Caddick. The tour's creative team includes Tour Director Anthony Lyn, Associate Choreographer Geoffrey Garrett, and Music Director James Dodgson.

ABOUT MARY POPPINS WORLDWIDE

Mary Poppins is one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge from London or New York in recent years. Worldwide to date, Mary Poppins has grossed nearly $400 million and has welcomed over five million guests.

Consistently among Broadway's top-grossing shows, Mary Poppins has played over 1,400 performances since its official opening at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 16, 2006. According to figures just released by The Broadway League, Mary Poppins placed on the Top Ten lists for both highest-grossing and best-attended shows of the 2009-10 season, an indicator of its remarkable success. Now in its fourth smash year, the Broadway production has been seen by over 2 million theatergoers and grossed over $180 million to date, recouping its initial investment within 52 weeks of its premiere.

Not only do the Broadway show and the North American tour draw huge audiences, but the show's popularity also reaches around the globe. Mary Poppins will premiere two major international productions in 2010: an open-ended run began April 11 at the Circus Theatre in Scheveningen, Holland, outside of Amsterdam (presented by Stage Entertainment in association with Disney and Cameron Mackintosh) and an Australian production opens July 29 at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, bringing to four, the total number of productions currently running worldwide. Additionally, during 2010 Mary Poppins opens in Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with plans already underway for future productions in Israel, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Korea, Canada, and Japan. Following a successful three-year run in 2008 at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End, a U.K. tour of Mary Poppins commenced in summer 2008 and concluded its acclaimed run in Cardiff, Wales in April 2009.

The Mary Poppins North American Tour celebrated its first anniversary on March 25, 2010 and announced that it had achieved the milestone of being the most successful touring theatrical event in 2009.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULE THROUGH JULY 2011

CITY/VENUE Performance Dates

Washington, D.C. - Kennedy Center Opera House July 1 - Aug 22, 2010

Charlotte - Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Aug 25 - Sept 12, 2010

Indianapolis - Murat Theatre Sept 23 - Oct 10, 2010

Buffalo - Shea's Performing Arts Center October 14 - 31, 2010

East Lansing - Wharton Center for Performing Arts November 3 - 21, 2010

Des Moines - Civic Center of Greater Des Moines Nov 26 - Dec 12, 2010

Detroit - Opera House Dec 16, 2010 - Jan 2, 2011

Pittsburgh - Benedum Center Jan 5 - 23, 2011

Omaha - Orpheum Theatre Jan 27 - Feb 13, 2011

Boston - Opera House Feb 17 - March 20, 2011

Philadelphia - Academy of Music March 23 - April 17, 2011

Columbus - Ohio Theatre April 20 - May 8, 2011

Seattle - Paramount Theatre May 12 - 29, 2011

Sacramento - Community Center Theatre June 2 - 19, 2011

Portland - Keller Auditorium June 22 - July 10, 2011

Costa Mesa - Orange County Performing Arts Center July 14 - 31, 2011

For more information, please visit MaryPoppins.com

TICKET INFORMATION

Performances of Mary Poppins runs July 1, 2010 to August 22, 2010 in the Kennedy Center Opera House Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m. There will be an additional matinee performance on Wednesday, August 18, 2010. There will be no evening performances on Sunday, July 4 and Sunday, August 22. Ticket prices start as low as $25 and can be purchased at the Kennedy Center Box Office, by calling Instant Charge at (202) 467-4600, or online at kennedy-center.org. Special (VIP/Premium) Ticket Packages are available at select performances, and include premium seating and a complimentary souvenir program. Orders for groups of 20 or more may be placed by calling (202) 416-8400. Patrons living outside the Washington metropolitan area may also dial toll-free at (800) 444-1324.

Theater at the Kennedy Center is presented with the generous support of

Stephen and Christine Schwarzman.
Mary Poppins is made possible through the generosity of The Adrienne Arsht Musical Theater Fund.

For more information, visit the Kennedy Center website at kennedy-center.org.

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