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Verity Hunt-Ballard won the role of Mary Poppins from more than 1000 hopefuls -- but she nearly didn't audition for it.
When casting began in Australia, Hunt-Ballard was performing in Jersey Boys, playing Frankie Valli's lover.
"I loved being in the show and I'm a loyal employee,'' she says. Months later, however, after hearing the producers were still having trouble finding their leading lady, her agent suggested she audition.
The creative team was back in Europe, working on the Dutch production, so Hunt-Ballard auditioned for their assistants, who sent a video of her to producer Cameron Mackintosh in London.
"She's marvellous,'' says Mackintosh. "When I went to Australia for the auditions, I didn't see anyone who was unique in their own right.
"I saw many talented people, but a lot of them had been doing pop musicals like Wicked, which is a different kind of singing and playing -- really 'big' rather than the very precise way of acting and singing and the other-worldly quality Mary needs.
