Picture: Roy Tan
Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s multi-award-winning Mary Poppins will take its final bow at the Prince Edward Theatre on 8 January 2023.
Announcing the last extension in the magical musical’s West End run, Mackintosh said: “When the new revised production of Mary Poppins opened at the end of 2019 with a tremendous cast headed by Zizi Strallen, Charlie Stemp and Petula Clark, the response was even more ecstatic than the original.
“We had always planned to run two years until the physical production was required elsewhere but covid managed to stretch our timetable into 2023 allowing everyone to enjoy an additional supercalifragilistic last Christmas jolly holiday season.
“Mary Poppins has remained a timeless and timely, uplifting and joyous theatrical experience – but Mary never says goodbye, only au revoir… till we meet again.”
Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, added: “Over its 18 years on stage, each new production of Mary Poppins has managed to speak to us in new, resonant ways – and never more than in this jewel of a production under Richard Eyre’s loving oversight. As they continue playing in productions around the world, Mary, Bert and the entire Banks family have still much to share – as Mary herself says, ‘with a good deal of love’.”
The current production opened in the show’s original London home, the Prince Edward Theatre in October 2019. Post pandemic the production returned to play to nightly standing ovations and will now play a further six months into the New Year. Mary Poppins successfully flew into Tokyo earlier this year and into Sydney in May.
Inspired by P.L. Travers’ enchanting tales of the magical nanny and the much-loved Disney film, the stage version was co-created by Mackintosh with a book by Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes and featuring the timeless score by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman. New songs and additional music and lyrics are by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.
Co-directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne and directed by Richard Eyre, Mary Poppins boasts orchestrations by William David Brohn with dance and vocal arrangements by George Stiles. The new sound design is by Paul Gatehouse with new lighting by Hugh Vanstone and Natasha Katz and co-choreography is by Stephen Mear. The reimagined set and costume designs are by Bob Crowley.
Angela Thomas
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