Disney will be saying goodbye to one of its Broadway productions this spring, as Disney Theatrical Productions has officially announced that Mary Poppins will be closing on Broadway this March. However, the Disney-owned New Amsterdam Theatre will not be empty for too long, as the musical adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin will arrive on Broadway in 2014.
Mary Poppins will officially play its final performance on March 3, 2013. The hit show opened on Broadway in 2006, and will have played 2,619 performances by the time it closes. In a statement, producer and president of Disney Theatrical Productions Thomas Schumacher commented:
“Mary Poppins has been a labor of love for Cameron, all of the show’s brilliant creators and those of us at Disney Theatrical for over a decade. But the show’s extraordinary success is due to the 500 plus actors, musicians and stagehands who have brought the show to magical life on Broadway and, most importantly, to the audiences who have fallen in love with Mary, Bert and the Banks family every night. We thank them and New York for six tremendous years.”
Producer Cameron Mackintosh also commented:
“Bringing Mary Poppins to the Broadway stage with Tom & Disney has been a complete joy and I am thrilled that Mary has been able to inhabit the glorious New Amsterdam for over six years and is now playing overseas to ensure the medicine goes down in the most delightful way. ‘Til we meet again.”
However, with the closing of one Disney show brings the opening of a new Disney on Broadway production. After debuting at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre in the summer of 2011 and enjoying a production at the St. Louis MUNY last summer, Aladdin will take the place of Mary Poppins at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre in 2014, confirming a statement made by Alan Menken over the summer about the show’s future. The musical is based on Disney’s 1992 film of the same name, and features music by Menken, lyrics by Tim Rice and the late Howard Ashman, and a new book and additional lyrics by Chad Beguelin. In addition to the classic songs from the film, the musical also includes early songs by Menken & Ashman that were cut from the film before its release, including “Proud of Your Boy.”
The Broadway production will reunite the original creative team from the show’s Seattle debut, including Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon) as choreographer and director, with the addition of set designer Bob Crowley (Once, Tarzan). However, Disney says that the Broadway staging of the show will be a completely new production, “featuring a new script, tunestack and a wholly original design scaled to the Broadway stage and an epic story.” No casting has yet been announced for the Broadway production.
Prior to the show’s Broadway debut, the production will premiere at the Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, where it will run from November 13, 2013 through January 12, 2014. No official date or timeframe has yet been given for the musical’s Broadway transfer.
To sign up for updates on Aladdin‘s Broadway production, visit the show’s official website at AladdinBroadway.com. For more information about Mary Poppins and to purchase tickets to the show in its final weeks on Broadway, visit MaryPoppins.com.
