Mary Poppins Returns development hell since the release of the 1964 film. Walt Disney attempted to produce a sequel a year subsequent to the film's release, but was rejected by author P. L. Travers, who had openly dismissed Disney's film adaptation. In the late 1980s, then-chairman of Walt Disney Studios Jeffrey Katzenberg and vice-president of live-action production Martin Kaplan approached Travers with the idea of a sequel set years after the first film, with the Banks children now as adults and an older Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews reprising the role. Travers again rejected the proposed concept with the exception of Andrews' return.
Mary Poppins (musical) Mary from Brown in February 2010 in Tempe, Arizona and played the role until February 2011.Nicolas Dromard, who previously understudied the role of Bert on Broadway, took over the role from September 2010 until September 2011. Steffanie Leigh joined the cast as Mary Poppins on February 8, 2011 and was replaced on December 6, 2011, by Megan Osterhaus who had played Winifred Banks on Broadway and later returned to Broadway as Winifred. The U.S. National tour played its last performance on June 2, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska. A new UK tour began at the Curve Theatre, Leicester on October 13,