London, England.
March 3rd 2005 (
www.marypoppinsthemusical.com)
Press releases
On March 17th there will be two Mary Poppins in London when Julie Andrews comes to London especially to see the hit stage musical at the Prince Edward Theatre
On March 17th there will be two Mary Poppins in London, when Julie Andrews comes to London especially to see the hit stage musical at the Prince Edward Theatre and you could be there! 
Cameron Mackintosh and Disney are delighted to announce a special charity Gala performance on March 17th of London’s latest smash hit musical MARY POPPINS to honour Julie Andrews who will be flying to London especially for the occasion. 
There are a limited number of tickets available for this performance which can be purchased with the Box Office. Please call 0870 850 9193 or drop in to the Prince Edward today. Tickets are £100 per head, with all proceeds going to charity. Patrons must be seated by 7.15pm for a 7.30pm curtain. Dress is black tie. 
This will be the first time Julie Andrews will have seen MARY POPPINS on stage. When the Walt Disney film was premiered, she won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance as the world’s most famous nanny and captured the hearts of audiences all over the world. Her visit also coincides with a special anniversary release of the Walt Disney film on DVD. 
Forty years later the role of Mary Poppins has been triumphantly recreated on stage by Laura Michelle Kelly, who has just won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She stars with Gavin Lee as Bert and David Haig and Linzi Hately as Mr and Mrs Banks. 
All proceeds from the performance will be donated by Cameron Mackintosh, Disney, and Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, to the children’s charity ARK; and to Operation USA, of which Julie Andrews is a trustee; and to LAMDA. 
ARK is a charity which aims to transform the lives of children around the world often ’when the cameras leave’, focusing on projects such as orphans, education and HIV. The proceeds of the evening will help children in the tsunami region and other disaster areas. 
NOTES
In 1993 Cameron Mackintosh persuaded Julie to make a return to Broadway, after a 30-year absence, in Stephen Sondheim’s PUTTING IT TOGETHER. In 1998 she came to London to host the all star Royal Gala HEY MR. PRODUCER at the Lyceum Theatre, a retrospective of Cameron Mackintosh’s musical theatre career to date. 
On 7th March Disney will be releasing a special anniversary DVD of the film of Mary Poppins. 
The original London cast recording from the stage show is released on 4th April. 
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