CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR MARY POPPINS

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR MARY POPPINS
CHARLOTTE’S LIMITED PREMIERE ENGAGEMENT BEGINS
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25 AT THE BELK THEATER
Charlotte, NC- Producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions are pleased to announce full casting for the Charlotte engagement of MARY POPPINS. Charlotte’s most eagerly anticipated stage production will begin performances at the Belk Theater on Wednesday, Aug. 25 for a limited engagement of four weeks through Sunday, Sept. 19.  The opening night is Friday, Aug. 27 at 8:00 p.m.
The entire original creative team has reunited to bring this magical story of the world’s most famous nanny to audiences around North America.  Since the tour’s launch in Chicago in March 2009, MARY POPPINS has earned continuous critical praise and box-office success.  The show is currently playing at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. through Aug. 22. 
Original UK Tour star Caroline Sheen will reprise her role as “Mary Poppins” while original Broadway company member Dominic Roberts will assume the role of “Bert.”
Caroline Sheen makes her U.S. stage debut in the North American Tour after earning rave reviews from the UK press including The Herald (Plymouth, UK) who called her, “the perfect embodiment of the outwardly prim nanny with the free-thinking mind.”  Sheen, who was born in Wales, has appeared on stage in a wide variety of other leading roles in the West End and UK including The Light in the Piazza, Once in a Lifetime, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Grease, Les Miserables, The Witches of Eastwick and Mamma Mia!  Sheen is appearing with the support of Actors’ Equity Association.  The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance of this production.
Dominic Roberts made his Broadway debut with MARY POPPINS and has appeared in stage productions at the Prospect Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, St. Louis Muny, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and the Weston Playhouse.  
Joining Sheen and Roberts will be Laird Mackintosh as “George Banks.” Mr. Mackintosh has performed several leading roles in Canada including The Drowsy Chaperone, White Christmas, Arcadia and Phantom of the Opera. “Winifred Banks” will be played by Blythe Wilson who joins the production after appearing on stage in The Sound of Music, Mamma Mia!, Oklahoma, and Three Penny Opera. 
Rachel Izen will portray “Mrs. Brill.”  Ms. Izen is making her North American Tour debut having appeared in numerous London West End productions including A Chorus Line, Chicago, Guys and Dolls, Singin’ in the Rain, Beauty and the Beast, Annie and Thoroughly Modern Mille.  Dennis Moench, who will play “Robertson Ay,” was recently seen in the Broadway production of MARY POPPINS and has also appeared in the All Shook Up National Tour and Off-Broadway in Altar Boyz and Fame.
Ellen Harvey will play “Miss Andrew.” Ms. Harvey’s Broadway credits include The Music Man and Thou Shalt Not and she has appeared in the National Tours of Disney’s High School Musical, Mamma Mia, Doctor Dolittle, and Sunset Boulevard. “The Bird Woman” will be played by Mary VanArsdel, who has appeared in productions of Cole Porter's Paris, Mass, Camelot (with Jeremy Irons), 110 In the Shade, and Gypsy. “Admiral Boom” will be portrayed by Mike O’Carroll, a stage veteran whose past credits include White Christmas, Fiddler on the Roof, Showboat, Will Rogers Follies, Henry IV, Inherit the Wind, and Ragtime. 
Performances in the role of “Jane Banks” will be alternated between Camille Mancuso and Paige Simunovich.  Ms. Mancuso’s previous theatre credits include the national tours of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, “White Christmas”, and “Little House on the Prairie.”  Ms. Simunovich was last seen on Broadway in “Finian’s Rainbow” and in the national tours of “101 Dalmatians”, “Wizard of Oz” and “Annie.”  Performances in the role of “Michael Banks” will be alternated between Talon Ackerman and Cade Canon Ball.  Mr. Ackerman has previously appeared in the stage productions of “Disney’s Tarzan”, “Cats”, “The Secret Garden”, “Sleepy Hollow” and “Our Town.”  Mr. Ball has recently appeared on stage in productions of “Seussical”, “A Christmas Carol” and “Sound of Music”.
Rounding out the cast are Carol Angeli, Jacob ben Widmar, Kiara Bennett, Troy Edward Bowles, Elizabeth Broadhurst, Jonathan Brody, Debra Cardona, Case Dillard, Elizabeth Earley, Steffi Garrard, Michael Gerhart, Geoffrey Goldberg, Eric Hatch, Garett Hawe, Tiffany Howard, Kelly Jacobs, Sam Kiernan, Stephanie Martignetti, Koh Mochizuki, Shua Potter, Nick Sanchez, Q. Smith, Jesse Swimm, Tom Souhrada and Jen Taylor.  
MARY POPPINS, a co-production of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened on Broadway on November 16, 2006.  Based on P.L. Travers' cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, MARY POPPINS the stage play features the Academy Award®-winning music and lyrics of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.  The stage production has been created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, by Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who has written the book, and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.
Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre leads the award-winning creative team, with co-direction and choreography by Tony® and Olivier Award winner Matthew Bourne.  MARY POPPINS features set and costume design by Tony® Award winner Bob Crowley, co-choreography by Olivier Award winner Stephen Mear, lighting design by Howard Harrison, orchestrations by William David Brohn, and music supervision by David Caddick.  The tour’s creative team includes Tour Director Anthony Lyn, Associate Choreographer Geoffrey Garrett, and Music Director James Dodgson. 
The MARY POPPINS NORTH AMERICAN TOUR celebrated its first anniversary on March 25, 2010 and announced that it had achieved the milestone of being the most successful touring theatrical event in 2009.
In Charlotte, MARY POPPINS will play Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m., Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 1:00 p.m. Ticket prices start as low as $32.50. Special Premium Ticket Packages are available at select performances, and include premium seating and a complimentary souvenir program.   Tickets are available at the Belk Theater Box Office located in the Tryon Street lobby of the Belk Theater, online at BlumenthalCenter.org or by phone at 704.372.1000.  Orders for groups of twenty (20) or more may be placed by calling 704.379.1380
The Charlotte engagement of MARY POPPINS Is presented by arrangement with the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.
For more information, please visit MaryPoppins.com
For full press release, please click PDF below.