Mary Poppins (musical)

Development

In 1993, theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh met Pamela Travers and acquired the rights to develop a stage play adaptation of her Mary Poppins books. She only agreed to a stage production as long as the creators were all English, and no one who had worked on the film. She died in 1996. In 2001, Mackintosh and the head of Disney Theatrical Thomas Schumacher opened talks on a possible collaboration, so that the stage play would be able to use the songs from the Disney film. With both sides committed, a preliminary outline of the show was written in 2002.

Around this time, songwriters George Stiles and Anthony Drewe heard about the project, and independently wrote a demo version of a new introductory song for the character of Mary, titled "Practically Perfect". They submitted the song to Mackintosh, and due to his positive response, were officially brought on to the creative team. Julian Fellowes was brought on to write the show's script because of his "clear understanding of the social niceties of the English class system that prevailed in the Edwardian era".

An experienced production team was assembled, including Sir Richard Eyre, multi award-winning director of film, theatre and opera; and Bob Crowley, a theatre designer who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera. Crowley also has six Tony Awards for various Broadway productions.

A workshop of the show was held at the end of 2003 at the rehearsal room at London's Old Vic Theatre, using the cast of My Fair Lady, which had just closed in the West End. After four weeks of rehearsals at Sadler's Wells, the production moved to Bristol, where an out-of-town tryout opened at the Bristol Hippodrome on September 15, 2004.

Original West End production

Cameron Mackintosh's stage adaptation of Mary Poppins had its world premiere at the Bristol Hippodrome starting with previews from September 15, 2004, before officially opening on September 18 for a limited engagement until November 6. The production then moved to the Prince Edward Theatre on December 15, 2004, making it the only Disney musical to have premiered in the UK. The role of Mary was played by Laura Michelle Kelly, who subsequently won the 2005 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the role, and the role of Bert was played by Gavin Lee. Notable replacements have included Scarlett Strallen, Lisa O'Hare and Caroline Sheen as Mary Poppins and Gavin Creel as Bert.

The show sparked mild controversy not long after its debut when producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher banned children below 3 years old from entering the theatre, deeming the show too scary for young children. The ban remained throughout the show's entire run, during which the theatre staff were to prevent patrons with children below 3 to enter. The show was officially tagged as being "for children seven years and up".

On March 17, 2005, Julie Andrews, who played Mary Poppins in the film, visited the show as a guest. She appeared onstage during the curtain calls, where she gave a speech recalling her own memories from making the film and praising the cast for their new interpretation.

The production closed on January 12, 2008, after a run of more than three years.

Original Broadway production

Following the success of the West End production, a Broadway production debuted on November 16, 2006 at the New Amsterdam Theatre after previews from October 14. Broadway performer Ashley Brown was brought on board to play the title role, and Gavin Lee, who had originated the role of Bert in the West End production, reprised his role in the Broadway production. The rest of the original cast included Daniel H. Jenkins as George Banks, Rebecca Luker as Winifred Banks, Katherine Doherty, Kathryn Faughnan, and Delaney Moro as Jane Banks, and Matthew Gumley, Alexander Scheitinger, and Henry Hodges as Michael Banks. Starting on 9 October 2008, the role of Mary was played by Scarlett Strallen (reprising her role from the West End production) and Bert was played by Adam Fiorentino. Laura Michelle Kelly, who originated the role of Mary in London, officially took over the role which she reprised on Broadway on October 12, 2009. Tony Award nominee Christian Borle joined the cast the same day as Bert. Nicolas Dromard replaced Borle on July 16, 2010, on a limited engagement through August 22, 2010. Lee returned the role of Bert on August 24, 2010 and was reunited with former London co-star Kelly. Ashley Brown returned to the role of Mary Poppins in the Broadway production from March 8, 2011 to July 17, 2011 while Kelly was away filming a movie, reuniting her with Lee. Kelly returned to role on July 19, 2011 and was later replaced by Steffanie Leigh.

The Broadway production differed from the London production in that the "Jolly Holiday" sequence was staged in full technicolour instead of the gray tones of the London show, and in "Anything Can Happen" the stairs to the heavens were replaced by a giant version of Mary Poppins' umbrella entering from the stage floor. These changes were later transferred back to the West End production. Most recently, a new song has been added to the score, entitled "Playing the Game". This replaces the already new "Temper, Temper" in the first act. This change has been added to all current and future productions of the show.

The Broadway version received generally positive reviews, ranging from enthusiastic to mediocre. Many critics praised the show for its technical merits. After running 52 weeks, the show recouped its original investment.

On July 16, 2011, the Broadway production surpassed Pippin to become the 30th longest running show in Broadway history.

This production closed on March 3, 2013, to make way for the Broadway production of Aladdin, after 2,619 performances and over six years of running on Broadway. The closing cast included Steffanie Leigh as Mary Poppins and Nicolas Dromard as Bert.

National tours

For the touring productions of the show, scenic designer Bob Crowley changed the sets, making the Banks' Household smaller in size, and deleting numerous intermediate scenes, so that smaller theatres could accommodate the large-scale demands of the production.

A UK tour of the London production commenced on June 4, 2008 and ended on April 18, 2009, with stops at venues including the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, Edinburgh Playhouse, and the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The original cast featured Caroline Sheen as Mary Poppins, Daniel Crossley as Bert, Martin Ball as George Banks and Louise Bowden as Winifred Banks. Caroline Sheen performed the role of Mary Poppins from June 4 to October 25, 2008 in Plymouth, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Lisa O'Hare took over the role of Mary Poppins on October 27, 2008 and performed in Edinburgh, Manchester and Cardiff, where the tour concluded. The UK Tour became the show's last production to include "Temper, Temper" before it was replaced by "Playing the Game" in future productions shortly afterwards.

A United States tour began previews on March 11, 2009 with the opening night on March 25, featuring Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee reprising their roles as Mary Poppins and Bert respectively. The tour began at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, and played in many U.S. cities. On November 15, 2009 during the opening night in Los Angeles, Dick Van Dyke (who played Bert in the film) appeared during the encore onstage and praised Lee's performance in the role. On January 22, 2010, to raise funds for a local charity and as part of a D23 event, Van Dyke did a cameo of his other role from the original film of Mr. Dawes Sr. The song "Temper, Temper" was cut from this production and replaced with a new musical number called "Playing the Game." The song also replaced "Temper, Temper" in the Broadway production beginning October 12, 2009. Caroline Sheen took over the role of Mary from Brown in February 2010 in Tempe, Arizona and played the role until February 2011. Dominic Roberts, who was an original Broadway and Tour cast member, took over the role of Bert from Gavin Lee August 17, 2010 for a limited engagement. Nicolas Dromard, who previously understudied the role of Bert on Broadway, took over the role from Dominic Roberts on September 10, 2010 and played the role until September 2011. Steffanie Leigh joined the cast as Mary Poppins on February 8, 2011 and was replaced on December 6, 2011, in Toronto, by Megan Osterhaus who assumed the role of Mary Poppins after playing Winifred Banks on Broadway. Osterhaus was then replaced by Rachel Wallace and she went back to New York to resume the role of Mrs. Banks.

The final U.S. National tour played its last performance on June 2, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska.

On February 25, 2015, Cameron Mackintosh announced that a new UK tour would begin at the Curve Theatre, Leicester on October 13, 2015. The tour is directed by Richard Eyre, and currently stars Zizi Strallen as Mary Poppins, and Matt Lee reprising his original role in the Australian production as Bert.

International productions

The first foreign-language production opened on October 18, 2008 in Gothenburg, Sweden at the Göteborg Opera. This production is externally licensed by Disney Theatrical to Josef Weinberger Limited, and performed entirely in Swedish, with the book translated by Magnus Lindman. The musical director was Björn Dobbelaere, with actors Linda Olsson as Mary and Magnus Borén as Bert. This production closed on March 14, 2009.

In April 2010, another foreign-language production opened at the Fortis Circustheater in The Hague (Scheveningen) and was presented by Disney Theatrical directly and Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties/Stage Entertainment. Noortje Herlaar portrays Mary Poppins and William Spaaij portrays Bert. The actress who plays the role of Mary Poppins was found in a TV-show: Op zoek naar Mary Poppins (Searching for Mary Poppins). This production closed on August 28, 2011.

The Finnish production opened at the Helsinki City Theatre on August 11, 2009 and ran until May 8, 2010. The Danish production opened in Copenhagen, Denmark at the Det Ny Teater on February 18, 2010.The role of Mary is played by Charlotte Guldberg and the role of Bert is played by Kristian Studsgaard. The Hungarian production opened in Budapest, Hungary in September 2009. A Czech production opened in Brno, Czech Republic in November 2010. The Estonian production opened at the Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu in November 2011 with performances also in Tallinn. The original cast included well-known Estonian musical actresses Hanna-Liina Võsa and Nele-Liis Vaiksoo in the role of Mary Poppins.

The first Spanish language version of the show opened on November 14, 2012 in Mexico City, co-produced by Ocesa Teatro, starring Bianca Marroquin in the role of Mary Poppins, Mauricio Salas as Bert, Paco Morales as George Banks, Catalina Farias as Winifred Banks, Alma Cristal as Mrs. Brill, Andrés Sáez as Robertson Ay, Natalia Saltiel as Ms. Lark, Daniela Meneses, Arely Mayer and Aminta Ireta (alternating) as Jane Banks, and Sebastian Gallegos, Oscar Aguilar and Osmani Castillo (alternating) as Michael Banks. The Mexican production closed on August 11, 2013.

The Icelandic production opened at the Reykjavik City Theatre in Reykjavik, Iceland on February 22, 2013.

The German-language premiere of the musical premiered at the Ronacher Theater in Vienna, Austria on October 1, 2014. The cast includes Annemieke Van Dam as Mary Poppins, David Boyd as Bert, Reinwald Kranner as George Banks, Milica Jovanovic as Mrs. Banks, Maaike Schuurmans as Miss Andrew, Dirk Lohr as Admiral Boom and Niklas Abel as Robertson Ay.

The first Australian production began previews at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne on 14 July 2010, officially on 29 July. The cast included Australian theatre icons Marina Prior as Mrs Banks, Debra Byrne as The Bird Woman, Philip Quast as Mr. Banks, Judi Connelli as Miss Andrew, Matt Lee as Bert, Sally Anne Upton as Mrs Brill, and Christopher Rickerby as Robertson Ay. Verity Hunt-Ballard was awarded the role of Mary Poppins late in the casting stage, after a long and exhaustive search. She was temporarily replaced towards the end of the Sydney run by Scarlett Strallen, who had starred in the role in both the West End and Broadway productions. A shoulder injury at the end of the Brisbane run prevented her with continuing with the Australian tour. West End star and former Mary Poppins actress Lisa O'Hare was called in to reprise the role for the Perth run. An Australian Cast Recording was released on February 18, 2011. Maggie Kirkpatrick was the first choice for the role of Miss Andrews, but a family emergency kept her from accepting.

The Melbourne production closed on April 1, 2011. It was also confirmed that the musical would play in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre starting in April 2011 concluding its run mid December 2011. The musical then went on an Australian tour, playing at the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane until March 2012 and the Burswood Theatre, Perth until June 2012. After a four-month break, the production opened at the Civic Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand, from 18 October until 30 December.

Other Australian productions include Free Rain Theatre's version, which premiered at the Canberra Theatre in March, 2015. The show starred Alinta Chidzey in the title role, Shaun Rennie as Bert, Colin Milner as Mr. Banks, Christine Wallace as Mrs. Banks, and Georgia Forster and Victoria Hunt as Jane Banks, and Callum Doherty and Jake Keen as Michael Banks.

Act I

Bert, a man of many professions, introduces the audience to Cherry Tree Lane ("Chim Chim Cher-ee/Cherry Tree Lane- Part 1") in Edwardian London. Number 17 is where the Banks family lives: George and Winifred Banks, their two naughty children Jane and Michael, their cook, Mrs. Brill and their odd-job man, Robertson Ay. Things are not going well for Jane and Michael. They are out of control and, as the show starts, their latest nanny, Katie Nanna, storms out. After that, Mrs. Brill and Robertson Ay complain about living in a "madhouse." The children decide to write the advertisement for a new nanny ("The Perfect Nanny"), but George, having a very different idea of what constitutes the perfect nanny, tears up the piece of paper and throws it in the fireplace. Within moments, Mary Poppins arrives, restored advertisement in hand, and takes charge of the Banks children, having every confidence in her own qualifications and merits ("Practically Perfect").

On the children's first outing to the park, they meet Bert and, despite their reservations about his ragged clothes and dirty face, Mary teaches them that they must learn to look past appearances. To illustrate the point, Mary brings the park statues, including a mythological figure named Neleus, to life ("Jolly Holiday").

While Mary manages the children, other problems lie with their parents. Winifred is aware that she is somehow disappointing both her children and her husband ("Being Mrs Banks"). George, on the other hand, can't understand why she finds the role of wife and mother so difficult ("Cherry Tree Lane (reprise)"). In an effort to please her husband, Winifred sends out invitations for a smart tea party. Mrs. Brill makes the preparations, while telling an eager Robertson Ay to keep his hands off. The children inadvertently sabotage the kitchen preparations, but Mary sorts it out with a lesson ("A Spoonful of Sugar"). However, it is then revealed that none of the invitees are coming.

Mary takes the children to visit their father at the bank where he works ("Precision and Order"). There, George is busy dealing with possible investment clients: firstly, an ambitious man named Von Hussler with an elaborate money-making scheme, and then a middle-class man named Northbrook with a simple factory project. George is furious when Mary turns up with the children, but an innocent question asked by Jane (What's more important, a good man or a good idea?) makes him realise how much his values have changed ("A Man Has Dreams") since he was an idealistic young man. He then decides to accept Northbrook's project and rejects Von Hussler's, but unfortunately things take a turn for the worse afterwards.

Outside St. Paul's Cathedral, Mary introduces the children to the Bird Woman ("Feed the Birds"). Jane is suspicious of her, but Michael responds to the Bird Woman and throws crumbs for the birds. On the trip home, the children meet the enigmatic Mrs. Corry who runs a magic sweet shop that also sells words ("Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious").

The children return home in high spirits, unaware that things have gone wrong for their father. Unknown to them, George's decision to reject Von Hussler has cost the bank dearly, and he is suspended without pay. George explodes with rage at the children and they are sent to the nursery. Reacting to her father's outburst, Mary briefly points out that other members of the family are rarely there to take care of the parents, before Jane and Michael get into a fight over Jane's doll Valentine, prompting a displeased Mary to order them to bed and enchant them to sleep. The frightening consequence of Jane's anger becomes apparent moments afterwards, as Valentine and the rest of Jane and Michael's disgruntled toys come to life and join Mary in teaching them a lesson in how to take better care of their belongings and toys (formerly "Temper, Temper", now "Playing the Game").

Believing that Jane and Michael need personal growth, Mary decides to leave Cherry Tree Lane ("Chim Chim Cher-ee – Rooftop Duet"), to bring them to their senses. Her distraught charges find a note saying that perhaps they will see Mary again eventually.

Act II

In a misguided attempt to please her husband, Winifred arranges for his childhood nanny, Miss Andrew, to take over from the suddenly departed Mary ("Cherry Tree Lane (Reprise)"). At the sight of her, a terrified George flees, exclaiming "the Holy Terror!" To everyone's shock and dismay, Miss Andrew is a brutal and cruel tyrant, quick to administer her own terrible elixir ("Brimstone and Treacle Part 1") and discipline by threatening to split Jane and Michael up through boarding school.

Terrified of their new nanny, the children escape to the park and find their good friend Bert, who cheers them up and helps Michael fulfill his dream of flying a kite ("Let's Go Fly a Kite"). This marks the return of Mary. Jane and Michael are thrilled to be reunited with her, and then quickly tell her of the changes that have gone on at Number 17.

Also hiding in the park is George, who is depressed over his supposed lack of achievements ("Good For Nothing"). Searching for him is Winifred, who at last understands her husband and the damage that was done to him by Miss Andrew ("Being Mrs Banks (Reprise)").

When the children return to Number 17, Mary sets Caruso, Miss Andrew's lark, free from his cage. This leads to confrontation between the two nannies, ending with Miss Andrew having a taste of her own medicine as she is put in a large birdcage and vanishes down below ("Brimstone and Treacle Part 2"). Winifred and then George return at this point, surprised but pleased that Miss Andrew has "left".

On their next adventure, Bert introduces the children to his friends the chimney sweeps ("Step in Time"). The sweeps' dance eventually enters the house, causing chaos. As the sweeps quickly exit, George receives a telegram from the bank requesting his presence there. George assumes that it is to seal his fate and decides it's time to sell the family heirloom. However, the vase is shattered accidentally by Mrs. Brill, who goes into a despairing shock since she had been cleaning it from the top of the shelf. When she is being led away for comfort, George goes to clean the broken pile himself, to find it reveal a collection of gingerbread stars from his childhood. This leads to a brief moment of reflection for George ("A Man Has Dreams/ A Spoonful of Sugar (Reprise)"). After shaking hands with Bert, George leaves to meet the Chairman of the Bank.

At the children's encouragement, Winifred decides to follow her heart and be at George's side at the bank ("Anything Can Happen"). Unseen to anyone else, Mary takes Jane and Michael to follow, where they watch the unfolding events.

At the bank, George is shocked to learn the truth about his choice: far from ruining the bank, he has made a fortune by both rejecting Von Hussler and approving Mr. Northbrook's loan. They ask for the word that made them so successful, which George admits to be Mary's word, ("Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (Reprise)"). Winifred, arriving to defend her husband, finds instead he is the hero of the hour. After she mentions Miss Andrew's name to the Bank Manager, the old man too relates his experience under "the Holy Terror". George apologizes for underestimating her, and together they return to the house ("Anything Can Happen (Reprise)").

Mary realizes that with the family reunited and happy, her task is done. With regret, she says goodbye to Bert with a kiss and sets off ("A Spoonful of Sugar (Farewell Reprise)"). Jane and Michael accept that Mary is leaving them and tell her that they'll never forget her. The two children watch as their parents waltz happily together and Mary flies high above the audience, disappearing in a flash.

Differences from the film and books

The stage musical is not a direct adaptation of the Disney film, but features elements of the film and the original books, plus original updated elements. The dancing penguins in the "Jolly Holiday" sequence and the tea party on the ceiling at Uncle Albert's (likely due to the inability to make things float on stage) from the film have been removed, although some community theatres' dress their chorus as penguins for "Jolly Holiday". The character of Neleus from the books comes to life in the musical, but was not seen the film. Mrs. Corry and her daughters have a cameo in the film, and are in the musical and books. There are many elements from the books that do not appear in the film or musical, such as Nellie Rubina and the Balloon Woman.

The musical places more emphasis on Jane and Michael being naughty and their parents being dysfunctional to heighten the drama. Jane and Michael are constantly answering back and fighting, necessitating a new sequence where Mary brings Jane's doll Valentine and the other toys to life to berate them in the song "Playing the Game". This sequence, originally titled "Temper Temper," was inspired from a chapter in the books titled Bad Wednesday. George Banks has been expanded from the film: in the musical it is revealed that he had a difficult childhood in which he was ignored by his parents, Jane and Michael's paternal grandparents, and was placed under the care of a fearsome nanny. This nanny, Miss Andrew, a character from the books, makes an appearance in the musical as the polar opposite of Mary Poppins, advocating "brimstone and treacle" instead of "a spoonful of sugar". Winifred Banks is no longer the suffragette of the film, but a former actress who is struggling to fulfill her husband's expectations of her. The character of Ellen the maid, played by Hermione Baddeley in the film, was cut entirely. A new character, Miss Smythe, was created to introduce the bank chairman. Admiral Boom does not blow his cannon making the house shake like he does in the film.

Also cut was the role of Miss Persimmon, played by Marjorie Eaton in the film. The bank chairman's father does not make an appearance like in the film, nor does Mr. Binnacle, Admiral Boom's assistant. New characters were developed to create a new conflict at the bank, the nice John Northbrook and scheming Herr Von Hussler. The park keeper from the books is in the musical but not the film. Another character from the books that is in the musical is Robertson Ay, the houseboy, who did not appear in the film. In the books, Jane and Michael have twin siblings, John and Barbara, and a baby sister Annabel, that do not appear in the stage or screen versions.

A number of musical sequences have been modified from their purpose in the film. These are:

Major characters

Songs

The following is the song list of the original London production. Subsequent productions have different songs or rearranged their order.

*Not included in the Original London Cast recording.
^"Playing the Game" replaced "Temper, Temper" in 2009.

Songs that were in the original movie but omitted from the musical are:

A deleted song for Mrs. Banks was called "What I Can Do", according to an interview with George Stiles and Richard Sherman. It was thought to be a sort of 1920s-style number, so they later wrote "Being Mrs. Banks" instead.

Recordings

The original London cast recording of the show was released shortly after its West End premiere. It features most of the major musical numbers from the show's score. When the Broadway production opened, a recording was released featuring several songs with the original American cast, including an edited version of "Feed the Birds" for Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins in the original American cast) on the song. On 18 February 2011, the Australian cast recording was released; the first recording to include the changes made to the show's score since its first London production.