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Mary Poppins will become the latest blockbuster musical to open in Melbourne when the magical nanny flies home to Australia next July. The musical, based on the books by Australian author P.L. Travers, has already proved a Broadway and West End hit and played to 4.2 million people worldwide.
The stage show features a mix of new music and famous songs from the 1964 Walt Disney film, which starred Julie Andrews, many of which have been updated. It includes chimney sweeps dancing upside down on a ceiling and Mary Poppins flying with all the movie's animated scenes replaced with dance productions.
Premier John Brumby said Mary Poppins followed Wicked, Jersey Boys, Billy Elliott, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Phantom of the Opera, Spamalot, and The Lion King in marking Melbourne as Australia's theatre capital. "It's an impressive list but I suspect that Mary Poppins might in fact outdo them all,'' Mr Brumby said.
