MARY POPPINS EXTENDS ITS STAY IN CHARLOTTE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 19 ONLY!

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN…
MARY POPPINS EXTENDS ITS STAY IN CHARLOTTE THROUGH SEPTEMBER 19 ONLY!
FINAL WEEK ON SALE NOW
Charlotte, N.C. – In response to the overwhelming demand for tickets, the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and producers Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions and Cameron Mackintosh have extended the Charlotte engagement of MARY POPPINS through Sept. 19. Tickets for newly announced performances from Sept. 14 – 19 are on sale now. Individual tickets are available for as low as $32.50.
Tickets can be purchased at the Blumenthal Box Office and online at www.blumenthalcenter.org. To charge tickets by phone, call 704-372-1000. Orders for groups of twenty (20) or more may be placed by calling 704-379-1380.  MARY POPPINS is the final production of the 2009/10 Duke Energy Broadway Lights Series.
“We are delighted to add an additional week of this Broadway hit,” said Center President Tom Gabbard.  “MARY POPPINS is making its Carolinas debut in Charlotte and this extra week will allow us to satisfy demand from across the two Carolinas.  This is a show that appeals to everyone. It’s a wonderful show for a family, a romantic date night, or a night out with friends. And of course, you can’t talk about MARY POPPINS without mentioning the music.  The score is just one beloved song after another.  It’s truly a magical night at the theater.”
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 currently is playing at the Fox Theater in Atlanta through May 16. 
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 musical 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. 
ABOUT MARY POPPINS WORLDWIDE
MARY POPPINS is one of the biggest stage musical successes to emerge from London or New York in recent years.  Worldwide to date, MARY POPPINS has grossed over $392 million and has welcomed over 5.3 million guests.
Consistently among Broadway’s top-grossing shows, MARY POPPINS has played over 1400 performances since its official opening on November 16, 2006.  Now in its fourth smash year at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York, the Broadway production has been seen by over two million theatergoers and grossed over $¬170 million to date, recouping its initial investment within 52 weeks of its premiere. 
Not only do the Broadway show and the North American tour draw huge audiences, but the show’s popularity also reaches around the globe.  MARY POPPINS will premiere two major international productions in 2010:  an open-ended run began April 11 at the Circus Theatre in Scheveningen, Holland, outside of Amsterdam (presented by Stage Entertainment in association with Disney and Cameron Mackintosh) and an Australian production opens July 29 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne.  Additionally, during 2010 MARY POPPINS opens in Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with plans already underway for future productions in Israel, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Korea, Canada and Japan.  Following a successful three-year run in 2008 at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End, a U.K. tour of MARY POPPINS commenced in summer 2008 and concluded its acclaimed run in Cardiff, Wales in April 2009. 
The MARY POPPINS NORTH AMERICAN TOUR has garnered continuous critical praise and achieved box office success since its launch in Chicago in March 2009.  The tour will play the following venues and cities in 2010: Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA; David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, FL; Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C.;  NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, NC; Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, IN; Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY and the Opera House in Detroit, MI.  Future tour engagements to be announced.

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR SCHEDULE THROUGH OCTOBER 2010                        
Atlanta – Fox Theatre                        
April 29 – May 16, 2010
Tampa – Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center                    
May 20 – June 6, 2010
Ft. Lauderdale – Broward Center for the Performing Arts          
June 9 – 27, 2010
Washington, D.C. - Kennedy Center Opera House                      
July 1 – Aug  22, 2010
Charlotte – Blumenthal Performing Arts Center                         
Aug  25 – Sept 19, 2010
Indianapolis – Murat Theatre                  
Sept 23 – Oct 10, 2010
Buffalo – Shea’s Performing Arts Center             
October 14 - 31, 2010
East Lansing – Wharton Center for Performing Arts             
November 3 – 21, 2010
In Charlotte, MARY POPPINS will play Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., Saturday matinees at 2 p.m., Sunday Matinees at 1 p.m. and Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
For more information, please visit MaryPoppins.com
For full press release, please click PDF below.