Mary Poppins at Prince Edward 15 December 2004

Mary Poppins at Prince Edward 15 December 2004

It has been confirmed that the musical stage adaptation of Mary Poppins, based on the stories by P.L. Travers and the 1964 Walt Disney film, will open at the Prince Edward Theatre on 15 December 2004, forty years after the premiere of the film.

The show is produced by Thomas Schumacher for Disney Theatrical Productions, and Cameron Mackintosh.

It will include many of the original songs from the film with music and lyrics by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman. Including "Chim Chim Cher-ee", A Spoonful of Sugar", "Feed The Birds" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". The new stage production has been created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, Julian Fellowes who has written the book, and George Stiles and Anthony Drewe who have written the new songs and additional music and lyrics.

It is directed by Richard Eyre, co-direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne, with additional choreography by Stephen Mear. Bob Crowley will design the sets and costumes. Lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound by Andrew Bruce, and orchestrations by William David Brohn.

On announcing the creative team the two producers said, "Everyone we talked to about working with us feels the same, a sense that these characters and stories are their own personal property. It is this deep rooted appeal which has enabled us to put together a dream team to write and stage the musical."

Diana Rawstron of Doodman Derrick, one of the trustees of the estate of the late Pamela Travers, said, "The Trustees are delighted that Mrs Travers' long held ambition of a stage musical based on her stories about the famous nanny is about to be realised. We are very confident that the collaboration between Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher will result in a marvellous show."

Over ten years ago Cameron Mackintosh was introduced to Pamela Travers and together they talked about her wish for her greatest creation to become a stage musical. "I was very touched that she entrusted me with the stage rights to her books, but equally aware that the only possibility of making her dream come true would be a real collaboration between myself and Disney, so that we could create a new work out of the original Travers' stories and yet retain the essence of the extraordinary magic of the film. From the outset of my meetings with Tom Schumacher last year, it was apparent that we were both searching for the same show. We very much hope that we will achieve Pamela's dream and create an equally enjoyable, but different, musical "Mary Poppins" to delight a modern audience."