Mary Poppins (musical) community theatres to produce due to the popularity of the film and books. In 1993, theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh met P.L. Travers and acquired the rights to develop a stage play adaptation of her "Mary Poppins" books. She only agreed to a stage production as long as the creators were all English, and no one who had worked on the film. She died in 1996. In 2001, Mackintosh and the head of Disney Theatrical Thomas Schumacher opened talks on a possible collaboration, so that the stage play would be able to use the songs from the Disney film. With both
Mary Poppins (musical) at the Bristol Hippodrome on September 15, 2004. Cameron Mackintosh's stage adaptation of "Mary Poppins" had its world premiere at the Bristol Hippodrome starting with previews from September 15, 2004, before officially opening on September 18 for a limited engagement until November 6. The production then moved to the Prince Edward Theatre on December 15, 2004, making it the only Disney musical to have premiered in the UK. The role of Mary was played by Laura Michelle Kelly, who subsequently won the 2005 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the role, and the role of Bert was