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"Mary Poppins" is landing in Chicago next March to kick off the North American Tour of the mega-hit musical adaptation of the classic Disney film, which has already taken London and Broadway by storm. 

To celebrate the arrival of the original ‘Super Nanny' here in Chicago, Broadway In Chicago hosted a star studded press conference on March 11th, at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, which is the future home of the show, to give Chicago audiences a glimpse of what glorious events await when the wind blows Mary's umbrella to the mid-west.

The afternoon event was hosted by Thomas Schumacher, President of the Disney Theatrical Group and co-producer of ‘Mary Poppins' (along with theatre impresario Cameron Macintosh).  After giving a video history of the origin of Mary Poppins through a biography of her creator P.L. Travers, Mr. Schumacher brought out some very special guests for the musical presentation, beginning with legendary composer Richard Sherman, who along with his brother Robert, wrote most all of the Disney movie scores from the 50's and 60's that have become imbedded in our culture.  Joining Mr. Sherman for a piano and vocal duet was the conductor of the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, Brad Haak. 

The afternoon was capped off by the two stars of the Broadway production, Ashley Brown (Mary) and Gavin Lee (Bert), giving us some of our favorite numbers from the musical, including one that was written especially for the stage production.

The following is the official press release with all the pertinent dates and information for ticket purchases:
The Award-winning musical Mary Poppins will commence a North American tour scheduled to start performances at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre (151 W. Randolph St.) on March 25, 2009.  The entire original creative team will reunite to bring this magical story of the world's most famous nanny to audiences across North America.

Tickets are now available to groups of 20 or more by calling (312) 977-1710.  Mary Poppins will also be offered to the Broadway In Chicago season subscribers before going on-sale to the general public.  All information regarding casting, subscription, individual ticket pricing and performance schedules will be announced as it becomes available.

This announcement comes on the heels of the news the Broadway company of Mary Poppins has recouped its entire investment in 52 weeks.  The show recently celebrated its one year anniversary and has been firmly established as the most popular show that opened during the 2006-2007 Broadway season. 

Based on P.L. Travers' cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins 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 assembled for Mary Poppins 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.  Producer for Disney is Thomas Schumacher. 

For more information please visit www.DisneyOnBroadway.com or www.BroadwayInChicago.com

Related: View photos from the press conference by Jay Shaff

Article Written By: Michael J. Roberts - ShowBizQ

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