More casting news for Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward

The  Daily Mail's Baz has just revealed more casting details for Mary Poppins the Musical which starts previews at the Prince Edward Theatre in October.

Joining the previously announced  Zizi Strallen  who is again playing  the iconic role of Mary Poppins, Charlie Stemp  as Bert , Petula Clark  and Joseph Millson as Mr Banks will be ⁦Amy Griffiths  as  Mrs Winifred Banks (a loving and distracted homemaker who is busy trying to live up to her husband's desire to only associate with "the best people" and be the model wife and mother), Claire Moore as  Miss Andrew (George Banks' overbearing and scary nanny with her bottle of nasty-tasting brimstone and treacle to keep naughty children in line), Claire Machin as Mrs Brill (the overworked and harrassed housekeeper and cook) , Jack North as Robertson Ay  (the dopey and grumbling houseboy ) and  Barry James as (Admiral Boom/Bank Chairman).

The creative team, led by director Richard Eyre, co-director and choreographer Matthew Bourne and co-choreographer Stephen Mear, have cast very experienced musical theatre performers Claire Moore Phantom, Miss Saigon)  and Claire Machin (Les Misérables, Oliver! and My Fair Lady) in the key roles of Miss Andrew and Mrs Brill who both  helped put the Tim Firth and Gary Barlow musical The Girls on the map. Machin has long been associated with the Poppins show ad she  was involved in early workshops and was in the original production. And Ms Moore recorded the very first demo of Practically Perfect for Poppins.  

Jack North ( Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, Barnum) and Barry James (Oliver!, She Loves Me , Les Misérables Little Shop of Horrors, The Phantom of the Opera  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) are also in the very impressive  company, which begins rehearsing the first week in September. 

The ensemble comprises Yves Adang, Lydia Bannister, Angeline Bell, Lydia Boulton, Matt Cox, Adam Davidson, Katie Deacon, Danielle Delys, Joshua Denyer, Stan Doughty, Glen Facey, Davide Fienauri, Ian Gareth-Jones, Mark Goldthorp, Joanna Gregory, Catherine Hannay, Jacqueline Hughes, Jason Kajdi, Sam Lathwood, Jordan Livesey, Ceili O'Connor, Malinda Parris, Alex Pinder, Ben Redfern, Rachel Spurrell, Lucie-Mae Sumner, Rhys West and Monique Young.

Casting for Jane and Michael Banks is to be revealed.

 

Petula Clark and Joseph Millson join Mary Poppins cast

The latest casting news  on Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre is that Petula Clark is returning to London's West End this autumn after an absence of  22 years  to play the Bird Woman who sings the iconic Sherman Brothers song  "Feed the Birds". Cameron Mackintosh has also hinted that she will be doing "something extra" in the show.

Joseph Millson  joins the cast as Mr. Banks, the banker father of Jane and Michael  who undergoes a big  adjustment during Mary's stay in his home.

Clark starred as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music in the West End in 1981 and Candida by George Bernard Shaw in 1983. Her other theatre credits  include Sunset Boulevard, Blood Brothers and Someone Like You.

Millson's extensive theatre credits include Apologia at Trafalgar Studios, The Rover for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Mr Foote's Other Leg at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Macbeth at Shakespeare's Globe, Much Ado About Nothing, King John and the Spanish Golden Age Season for the RSC/West End, Rocket to the Moon, Pillars of the Community and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour for the National Theatre, Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre and The Priory for The Royal Court Theatre. Most  recent television work includes Catch 22, Grantchester, Ransom, Banished, 24 Live Another Day, as well as regular roles in The Last Kingdom, Campus, Holby City and The Sarah Jane Adventures. His film credits include Casino Royale, I Give It A Year, All The Devils Men, Dragonheart Vengeance, Angel Has Fallen, No Vacancies, Burning Men, Tango One, The Dead 2 and Devil's Bridge.

Other casting news previously announced is that Zizi Strallen will be playing the title tole and Charlie Stemp is Bert.

Mary Poppins Musical has already made £2.5M from ticket presales

Baz in today's Mail is reporting that ticket sales for the new Mary Poppins musical are close to £2.5 million which was taken in just three days from presale  bookings. Tickes  for the show which starts previews  at the Prince Edward Theatre on October 23rd (opening night 13th November)  go on sale to the general public  on Monday 28th January at 10:00.

The show stars Zizi Strallen as the nanny who uses her special  magic to help the Banks family in Cherry Tree Lane, with  Charlie Stemp as Bert the chimney sweep.

MARY POPPINS is one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge from London or New York in recent years. Worldwide, the six productions of the show have grossed over $521 million, welcomed over 7 million guests and cumulatively run for over 12 years. The musical is the winner of 36 major theatre awards around the globe, including Tony, Olivier and Evening Standard awards.It received its worldwide premiere in London at the Prince Edward Theatre  in December 2004 where it enjoyed a successful three year run followed by an extensive  acclaimed UK tour.

Mary Poppins starring Zizi Strallen and Charlie Stemp heading to London next Autumn

At last the news we have all been hoping for has been broken by Baz Bamigboye in today's Mail with  Cameron Mackintosh & Disney's  Mary Poppins heading to the  West End's Prince Edward Theatre (where  it originally opened in 2004) in Autumn 2019 after Disney's Aladdin  reportedly ends its run there on 31st August.

And it comes with perfect casting with  Zizi Strallen (currently starring in Strictly Ballroom) again playing  the iconic role of Mary Poppins which she played so well in the UK tour of the musical which ended in January 2017.

Charlie Stemp has been cast as Bert - which is a role I have always thought  he is perfect for -  following his award winning peformance as Arthur Kipps in Half A Sixpence in  Chichester and London and most recently wowing New York audiences playing opposite Bette Middler and Bernadette Peters in Hello Dolly! on Broadway as lovestruck Barnaby Tucker.

Cameron Mackintosh told Baz: ‘We’ll rebuild the show around both of them,’ with a creative team, including writer Julian Fellowes and songwriters George Stiles and Anthony Drewe (who wrote some new numbers), along with designer Bob Crowley, redesigned and re-staged the production when it toured the UK and globally.  And  more good news is that the West End production will be directed by film, theatre, television and opera director Sir Richard Eyre and choreographed by New Adventures Sir Matthew Bourne (who both worked on the 2004 show) with the excellent Stephen Mear as co-choreographer. 

MARY POPPINS is one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge from London or New York in recent years. Worldwide, the six productions of the show have grossed over $521 million, welcomed over 7 million guests and cumulatively run for over 12 years. The musical is the winner of 36 major theatre awards around the globe, including Tony, Olivier and Evening Standard awards.
It received its worldwide premiere in London at the Prince Edward Theatre  in December 2004 where it enjoyed a successful three year run followed by an extensive  acclaimed UK tour.

The much anticipated movie  Mary Poppins Returns starring Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda is due for release in the States on 19th December 2018/21st December in the UK. It  takes place in Depression-era London and follows a now-grown up Jane and Michael Banks, who are visited by  Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack (a lamplighter and former-apprentice of Bert played by Miranda) she  helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.

Cameron Mackintosh said: I'm thrilled to be bringing the internationally acclaimed new staging of Pamela Travers' magical stories back to London in the autumn of 2019, with Disney, featuring the dazzling talents of Zizi Strallen and Charlie Stemp as Mary and Bert. The original production, over 14 years ago, only played London and Broadway and subsequently was revised and continues to be staged around the world with phenomenal success. The recent UK tour, starring Zizi as Mary, broke box office records everywhere it played. It has been particularly gratifying that the stage musical with its brilliant script by Julian Fellowes and wonderful new score by Stiles and Drewe, complementing the Sherman Brothers' classic songs, has taken on its own magical life separate from the film, appealing to audiences of all ages and nationalities

 Tickets for Mary Poppins the Musical are set to go on sale January 2019.

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Mary Poppins Returns Movie details confirmed

Details have now been confirmed for the movie Mary Poppins Returns starring Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda & Emily Blunt 

Blunt stars in the title role with Miranda playing  a new character as a lamplighter named Jack. Drawing from the wealth of material in Travers’ seven additional novels, the story will take place in Depression-era London and follows a now-grown up Jane and Michael Banks, who, along with Michael’s three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.

Directed by Rob Marshall, with screenplay by David Magee the movie is based on The Mary Poppins Stories by P L Travers. Marc Shaiman will compose anew score, writing original songs with Scott Wittman.

The US release date has been set for 25th December 2018.

The Secret Life of Mary Poppins

The musical Mary Poppins is currently touring to great critical acclaim, but if you have seen the award winning film Saving Mr Banks starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks you will know something of the background to the making of the 1964 the Mary Poppins film which premiered in Hollywood to world acclaim. But PL Travers the author of the books loathed it.

A  Culture Show special on BBC2 on 27th December from 12:45pm is presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and explores the dark and complex life of the writer. Her twenty year battle with Walt Disney, the strange adoption of her child (he was one of twins) and how the film version overshadowed her writings but made her rich. 

With contributions from Emma Thompson, Cameron Mackintosh and PL Travers's granddaughter

New Disney Film of Mary Poppins

With a new tour of Mary Poppins starring Zizi Strallen and Matt Lee is currently in rehearsal and due to open at the Leicester Curve on 13th October, and now according to Variety, Rob Marshall (Into the Woods, Chicago) will direct a Disney remake of their classic 1964 film, Mary Poppins. The project will be produced by John DeLuca and Marc Platt and will reportedly take place 20 years after the events of the original movie, including storylines from the P L  Travers' children books focusing on the magical nanny's continued adventures with the Banks family. Casting  is to be be announced.

This also follows in the wake of the successful movie Saving Mr Banks which tells the story of how Mary Poppins was made starring Emma Thompson as P L Travers,  Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Colon  Farrell as Mr Banks. 

The current rumour is that  Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Smash, Catch Me If You Can) will write the score and David Magee (Finding Neverland) will write the screenplay.

Casting for Mary and Bert on the tour of Mary Poppins

Zizi Strallen is playing the leading role in the new UK tour of Mary Poppins which kicks off at the Leicester Curve on 13th October. She is currently starring as Lana  in  Matthew Bourne's The Car Man.  And was most recently seen in the West End in “Cats” and the multi award-winning “Merrily We Roll Along”. Her other West End credits include “Rock of Ages”, “Dirty Dancing” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and Matthew Bourne’s “Cinderella” at Sadler’s Wells.  She has also appeared in “The Music Man” at Chichester Festival Theatre, and as ‘Penny Pingleton’ in “Hairspray” at Leicester Curve.

Producers Cameron Mackintosh and Disney have also cast Matt Lee as  Bert the Chimney sweep. He  played the role  when the show opened in Australia, his portrayal winning him the prestigious Helpmann Award for Best Actor in a Musical. His other theatre credits in Australia include “Miss Saigon”, “The Witches of Eastwick”, “Rent”, “Grease” and “The Boy from Oz”. Matt was also a permanent member of the judging panel for Australia’s “So You Think You Can Dance”.

Strallen's sister Scarlett has played the role in London and on Broadway, which helped prepare Zizi for her audition saying:  I did feel I knew the part very well, going for the auditions. It was in me somewhere. I'm very good with children, but I'm an absolutely dreadful cook. I can make breakfast, 
though.

Cameron Mackintosh said today It’s hard to believe that it is already 11 years since Mary Poppins first landed on the London stage.  My goodness……time flies even faster than our beloved Nanny!  I’m delighted to be bringing her back to the UK and for the first time to Dublin, after spreading her magic around the world.  Since we originally staged the production we have found even more magical ways to stage this timeless tale. I’m also thrilled to have cast yet another of the extraordinarily talented Strallen family in the role of Mary and pair her with one of the most brilliant Berts we have been fortunate to find worldwide. I know Zizi and Matt will be practically perfect in every way and a show-stopping tour de force.

Tour of Mary Poppins Musical

The musical Mary Poppins is being revived for a UK tour due to open at  the Leicester Curve on 13th October and run until the 24th with tickets going on sale on 6th March

It will then tour to venues including Bristol Hippodrome (29th October-28th November), the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin (3rd December-9th January 2016), the Palace Theatre Manchester (20th January-5th March), Birmingham Hippodrome (9th March-23rd April), Edinburgh Festival Theatre (27th April-21st May)  and the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton (25th May-19th June) with more venues  to be announced.

Mary Poppins originally ran in the West End from 2004- 2008, directed by Richard Eyre with co-direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne. Cameron Mackintosh said: “It’s hard to believe that it is already 11 years since Mary Poppins landed on the London stage. I’m delighted to be bringing her back to the UK and for the first time to Dublin, after spreading her magic around the world. Since we originally staged the production we have found even more magical ways to stage this timeless tale and I’m sure you will find our new Mary practically perfect in every way."

The stage production of MARY POPPINS is co-created by Cameron Mackintosh and has a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter and Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes.  It has a score  by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman, with additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The tour will be directed by Anthony Lyn, with choreography by Geoffrey Garratt and musical supervision by Stephen Brooker.