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Broadway triumph for Poppins
By Tom Teodorczuk, Evening Standard 17.11.06
Mary Poppins: a success on Broadway
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Mary Poppins has soared her way to a triumphant Broadway opening.
Sir Cameron Mackintosh's £9 million musical brought the house down in front of a sell-out audience at New York's New Amsterdam theatre.
The musical, based on the PL Travers stories and the 1964 Walt Disney film, is now in its third year at the Prince Edward Theatre.
But the Broadway version depicting the exploits of the flying nanny, starring American actress Ashley Brown as Mary and British actor Gavin Lee as Bert, is set to replicate that success.
Sir Cameron said: "US audiences seem to be enjoying the show as much as West End audiences. The reaction of the American audience has accelerated into a buzz. People are genuinely surprised at how wonderful it is.
"Mary Poppins is all about the bringing together of the family and that is an enduring image in the US."
He added that the musical had "the smell of something that will be successful on Broadway".
Directors Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne have made changes to the musical for its Broadway opening which have been incorporated into the London production.
Sir Cameron said that, in contrast to the West End where Mary Poppins is a family show, 95 per cent of the audience for Mary Poppins in New York during the week are adults. "It's proving very popular among the baby-boomer generation who liked the film."
Lee, who has been in the production since it began in 2004 and who was nominated for an Olivier award for his role as Bert, said: "There's more of a buzz in New York than there was for the London opening. The whole of New York seems to know the show is on."
Sir Cameron said that although he welcomed the current West End boom in musicals, he has no plans to stage any new musicals in London. Instead, he will stick to his current repertoire which includes Les Miserables and My Fair Lady.
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