Mary Poppins is a musical with music and lyrics by the Sherman Brothers and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, and a book by Julian Fellowes. The musical is based on the similarly titled Mary Poppins children's books by P. L. Travers and the 1964 Disney film starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns and is a fusion of various elements from the two, including songs from the film.
Produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Disney Theatrical Productions and directed by Richard Eyre with co-direction from Matthew Bourne who also acted as co-choreographer with Stephen Mear, the original West End production opened in December 2004 and won two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre Choreographer. 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 nominations, including Best Musical, and won for Best Scenic Design in a Musical. The original Broadway production closed in March 2013, after 2,619 performances. Touring and international productions followed.
The musical has become a popular choice for schools and community theatres to produce.
Development In 1993, theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh met P. L. Travers and acquired the rights to develop a stage play adaptation of her Mary Poppins books. She only agreed to a stage production as long as the creators were all English, and no one who had worked on the Disney film adaptation was involved with the stage production. In 2001, Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher, head of Disney Theatrical Productions, opened talks on a possible collaboration, so that the stage play would be able to use the songs from the Disney film. With both sides committed, a preliminary outline of the show was written in 2002.
Around this time, songwriters George Stiles and Anthony Drewe heard about the project, and independently wrote a demo version of a new introductory song for the character of Mary, titled "Practically Perfect". They submitted the song to Mackintosh, and due to his positive response, were officially brought on to the creative team. Julian Fellowes was brought on to write the show's script because of his "clear understanding of the social niceties of the English class system that prevailed in the Edwardian era".
An experienced production team was assembled, including Sir Richard Eyre, multi award-winning director of film, theatre and opera; and Bob Crowley, a theatre designer who has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera. Crowley also has six Tony Awards for various Broadway productions.
A workshop of the show was held at the end of 2003 at the rehearsal room at London's Old Vic Theatre, using the cast of My Fair Lady, which had just closed in the West End. After four weeks of rehearsals at Sadler's Wells, the production moved to Bristol, where an out-of-town tryout opened at the Bristol Hippodrome on September 15, 2004.
Productions
West End debut (2004–08)
Cameron Mackintosh's stage adaptation of Mary Poppins had its world premiere at the Bristol Hippodrome starting with previews from September 15, 2004, before officially opening on September 18 for a limited engagement until November 6. The production then moved to the Prince Edward Theatre on December 15, 2004, making it the only Disney musical to have premiered in the UK. The role of Mary was played by Laura Michelle Kelly, who subsequently won the 2005 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the role, and the role of Bert was played by Gavin Lee. Notable replacements included Scarlett Strallen, Lisa O'Hare and Caroline Sheen as Mary Poppins and Gavin Creel as Bert (from July 2006).Staff. "Broadway's Gavin Creel to Play Bert in West End 'Mary Poppins'" broadway.com, June 1, 2006 Creel had auditioned for the role for the then upcoming Broadway production, but was dropped in favour of Lee, making the West End production his West End debut.
The show sparked mild controversy not long after its debut when producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher banned children below three years old from entering the theatre, deeming the show too scary for young children. The ban remained throughout the show's entire run, during which the theatre staff were to prevent patrons with children below three to enter. The show was officially tagged as being "for children seven years and up".
On March 17, 2005, Julie Andrews, who played Mary Poppins in the film, visited the show as a guest. She appeared onstage during the curtain calls, where she gave a speech recalling her own memories from making the film and praising the cast for their new interpretation. The production closed on January 12, 2008, after a run of more than three years.
Original Broadway production (2006–2013)
Following the success of the West End production, a Broadway production debuted on November 16, 2006, at the New Amsterdam Theatre after previews from October 14.A Jolly Holiday: Mary Poppins Opens at the New Amsterdam Nov. 16 Playbill, November 16, 2006 Ashley Brown played the title role, and Gavin Lee, who had originated the role of Bert in the West End production, reprised his role on Broadway. Daniel Jenkins played George Banks, Rebecca Luker was Winifred, and Matthew Gumley and Henry Hodges played Michael. Starting October 9, 2008, the role of Mary was played by Scarlett Strallen (reprising her role from the West End production) and Bert was played by Adam Fiorentino. Laura Michelle Kelly, who originated the role of Mary in London, took over the role on Broadway on October 12, 2009. Christian Borle joined the cast the same day as Bert. Nicolas Dromard played Bert from July 16 to August 22, 2010.Big News!!! from Nicolas Dromard nicolasdromard.com Lee returned to the role of Bert on August 24, 2010, and was reunited with former London co-star, Kelly. Brown returned to the title role from March 8 to July 17, 2011, while Kelly was away filming a movie, reuniting her with Lee, and Kelly returned to role on July 19, 2011.
The Broadway production differed from the London production in that the "Jolly Holiday" sequence was staged in full technicolor instead of the gray tones of the London show, and in "Anything Can Happen" the stairs to the heavens were replaced by a giant version of Mary's umbrella entering from the stage floor. These changes were later transferred back to the West End production. Most recently, a new song has been added to the score, titled "Playing the Game". This replaces the already new "Temper, Temper" in the first act. This change has been added to all current and future productions of the show.
The Broadway production received generally positive reviews, ranging from enthusiastic to lukewarm. Many critics praised the show for its technical merits. After running 52 weeks, the show recouped its original investment.
The production closed on March 3, 2013, after more than six years and 2,619 performances on Broadway, to make way for Disney's Aladdin. The closing cast included Steffanie Leigh as Mary and Dromard as Bert. As of May 2026, it remains Broadway's twenty-sixth longest-running show.
National tours For the touring productions of the show, designer Bob Crowley changed the sets, making the Banks' Household smaller in size, and deleting numerous intermediate scenes, so that smaller theatres could accommodate the large-scale demands of the production.
A UK tour of the London production commenced on June 4, 2008, and ended on April 18, 2009, with stops at venues including the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, Edinburgh Playhouse, and the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Its cast featured Caroline Sheen as Mary Poppins, Daniel Crossley as Bert, Martin Ball as George Banks and Louise Bowden as Winifred Banks. Lisa O'Hare took over the role of Mary on October 27, 2008. The UK Tour became the last production to include "Temper, Temper" before it was cut from future productions.
A United States tour began previews on March 11, 2009, with the opening night on March 25, featuring Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee reprising their roles as Mary and Bert, respectively."'Mary Poppins' Tour broadwayacrossamerica.com, retrieved December 18, 2010 The tour began at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, and played in many U.S. cities. On November 15, 2009, during the opening night in Los Angeles, Dick Van Dyke (who played Bert in the film) appeared onstage during the encore.Darker than Disney, Yet Still Delightful ladowntownnews.com On January 22, 2010, to raise funds for a local charity and as part of a D23 event, Van Dyke did a cameo of his other role from the original film of Mr. Dawes Sr.Disney Legend Dick Van Dyke pops in on LA's production of "Mary Poppins" jimhillmedia.com In 2009, the song "Temper, Temper" was cut and replaced by a new musical number, titled "Playing the Game." Sheen took over the role of Mary from Brown in February 2010 in Tempe, Arizona and played the role until February 2011. Nicolas Dromard, who previously understudied the role of Bert on Broadway, took over the role from September 2010 until September 2011. Steffanie Leigh joined the cast as Mary Poppins on February 8, 2011 and was replaced on December 6, 2011, by Megan Osterhaus who had played Winifred Banks on Broadway and later returned to Broadway as Winifred. The U.S. National tour played its last performance on June 2, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska.
A new UK tour directed by Richard Eyre began a run at the Curve Theatre, Leicester from October 13 until October 25, 2015 starring Zizi Strallen as Mary Poppins and Matt Lee reprising his original role in the Australian production as Bert. The tour then visited Bristol (October 29 - November 28, 2015), Dublin (December 3, 2015 - January 9, 2016), Manchester (January 20 - March 5, 2016), Birmingham (March 9 - April 23, 2016), Edinburgh (April 27 - May 21, 2016) and Southampton (May 25 - June 19, 2016). In November 2015, more dates were added including Norwich (June 29 - July 30, 2016), Plymouth (August 3 - September 3, 2016), Newcastle (September 8 - October 29, 2016), Bradford (November 2 - December 10, 2016) and finishing in Cardiff (December 14, 2016 - January 14, 2017).
On March 7, 2024 a new UK tour was announced, opening at the Bristol Hippodrome on 4 November, before heading to Dublin, Edinburgh, Plymouth, Manchester, Bradford, Birmingham, Southampton, Sunderland, Milton Keynes, Cardiff and Liverpool. The opening of the new tour in Bristol marked 20 years since the show started out-of-town previews before transferring to the West End. The show is co-directed by Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne and co-choreographed by Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear. It has a reimagined set and costume design by Bob Crowley, and again is co-produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Disney Theatrical Productions. Casting includes Stefaine Jones as Mary and Jack Chambers as Bert, reprising their roles from the Sydney 2022 production.
West End revival (2019–2023)