Original Broadway stars Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee reprise their roles as Mary Poppins and Bert, respectively, in the touring production, which will play Cleveland's PlayhouseSquare through Aug. 9. (Lee also starred in the London cast of Poppins.)
They are joined onstage by Karl Kenzler (Mr. Banks), Megan Osterhaus (Mrs. Banks), Valerie Boyle (Mrs. Brill), Mary Vanarsdel (Bird Woman), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Robertson Ay), Ellen Harvey (Miss Andrew) and Mike O'Carroll (Admiral Boom). Christopher Flaim and Justin Hall alternate in the role of Michael Banks. Abigail Droeger and Aida Neitenbach alternate in the role of Jane Banks.
The ensemble comprises Tia Altinay, Carol Angeli, Gail Bennett, Kiara Bennett, Brandon Bieber, Troy Edward Bowles, Elizabeth Broadhurst, Michael Gerhart, Geoffrey Goldberg, Emily Harvey, Tiffany Howard, Kelly Jacobs, Wendy James, Justin Keyes, Sam Kiernan, Brian Letendre, Laird Mackintosh, Vanessa McMahan, Koh Mochizuki, Shua Potter, Dominic Roberts, Nick Sanchez, Q. Smith, Jesse Swimm and Tom Souhrada.
The Disney-Cameron Mackintosh musical Mary Poppins is based on the books by P.L. Travers and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film.
Richard Eyre directs Mary Poppins, which features choreography and co-direction by Matthew Bourne and boasts original songs from the film — with music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman — as well as new songs and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Julian Fellowes wrote the book. The musical also features set and costume design by Bob Crowley, co-choreography by Stephen Mear, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design Steve Canyon Kennedy, orchestrations by William David Brohn, musical direction by Annbritt duChateau and musical supervision by David Caddick.
Venues and first-performance dates for the tour follow:
St. Louis: Fox Theatre beginning Aug. 13
Minneapolis: Orpheum Theatre beginning Sept. 3
Dallas: Music Hall at Fair Park beginning Sept. 24
Houston: Hobby Center for the Performing Arts beginning Oct. 22
Los Angeles: Ahmanson Theatre beginning Nov. 13
Tempe: ASU Gammage beginning Feb. 11, 2010
Cincinnati: Aronoff Center for the Arts beginning April 8, 2010
Atlanta: Fox Theatre beginning April 29, 2010
Tampa: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center beginning May 20, 2010
Ft. Lauderdale: Broward Center for the Performing Arts beginning June 10, 2010
Washington, D.C.: Kennedy Center Opera House beginning July 1, 2010
Charlotte: Blumenthal Performing Arts Center beginning Aug. 26, 2010
In New York, Poppins plays the New Amsterdam Theatre. An Australian production will open at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne in July 2010.
For more information visit www.marypoppins.com.
