Mary Poppins Has World Premiere in Bristol Sept. 15 | Playbill

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News Mary Poppins Has World Premiere in Bristol Sept. 15 Mary Poppins, the stage version of the classic 1964 Disney film which has become one of the most anticipated theatre events of the season, will first face its first audience Sept. 15 at the Bristol Hippodrome.

The UK premiere will continue through Nov. 6 with an opening on Sept. 18. It is then scheduled to proceed to London's Prince Edward Theatre in December. Disney and Cameron Mackintosh produce.

As previously announced, the ivory-skinned, dark-haired Laura Michelle Kelly, who was recently seen as Hodel in the current Broadway revival of Fiddler On the Roof, will play the beloved nanny — the role originated on screen by Julie Andrews.

Joining Leads Kelly and Gavin Lee as Bert will be David Haig and Linzi Hateley as George and Winifred Banks, Rosemary Ashe as Miss Andrew, Jenny Galloway as Mrs. Brill, Julia Sutton as Bird Woman, Kevin Williams as Park Keeper and Gerard Carey as Robertson Ay. Five sets of children will play Banks kids Michael and Jane.

Gavin Lee has appeared in such West End musicals as Peggy Sue Got Married and A Saint She Ain't. David Haig starred in Terry Johnson’s Hitchcock Blonde at both the Royal Court and Lyric Theatre. His other West End credits include Life x 3 and House and Garden. He won an Olivier Award for Our Country's Good. Hateley has played Roxie Hart in the London production of Chicago. Ashe's credits include The Phantom of the Opera, Oliver!, Les Miserables and Witches of Eastwick.

Completing the cast are Sarah Bayliss, Ian Burford, Ashley Day, Jye Frasca, Lewis Greenslade, Howard Jones, Sarah Keeton, Melanie La Barrie, Claire Machin, Matthew Malthouse, Stephen McGlynn, Tamara McKoy Patterson, Tim Morgan, Stuart Neal, Zak Nemorin, Terel Nugent, Lisa O’Hare, Pippa Raine, Louisa Shaw, Savannah Stevenson, Nathan Taylor, Philip Michael Thomas, Poppy Tierney, Agnes Vandrepote, Alan Vicary, Emma Woods and Andrew Wright. Mary Poppins will feature co-direction by Sir Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne, co-choreography by Bourne and Stephen Mear, design by Bob Crowley, a book by Academy Award winner Julian Fellowes (“Gosford Park”) and additional tunes (supplementing the original film score by Robert and Richard Sherman) by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Stiles and Drewe are the British songwriting team who composed the score for the Olivier Award winning musical Honk!.

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The beloved 1964 Disney film "Mary Poppins" starred Julie Andrews in the title role opposite the Bert of Dick Van Dyke. Directed by Robert Stevenson, the movie boasted a score by the Sherman brothers (Richard and Robert) and featured such tunes as "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Jolly Holiday," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Feed the Birds," "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite." Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture, the film garnered Oscars for Julie Andrews as well as those for Best Special Visual Effects; Best Film Editing; Best Score; and Best Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee").

 
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