Mary Poppins is a
Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the similarly titled
series of children's books by
P. L. Travers and the Disney 1964
film. The
West End production opened in December 2004 and received two
Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre Choreography. The musical features the film's music and lyrics by the
Academy Award winning
Sherman Brothers, along with additional music and lyrics by
George Stiles and
Anthony Drewe. The book was written by
Julian Fellowes. The musical was directed by
Richard Eyre and co-directed by
Matthew Bourne, who also acted as co-choreographer with
Stephen Mear. A Broadway production with a near-identical creative team opened in November 2006, with only minor changes from the West End version. It received seven
Tony Award nominations, including
Best Musical, winning for
Best Scenic Design.
The stage musical is a fusion of various elements from the
film and the
books. Some elements from the
Mary Poppins series of
children's books that had been omitted from the film were restored, such as the walking statue and the ladders rising to the stars. Others were removed, such as the scene in which Uncle Albert gets caught on the ceiling, laughing.
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. In 2001, Mackintosh and the head of
Disney Theatrical Thomas Schumacher...
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