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Why You’ll Love This Book by Cameron Mackintosh

Mary Poppins delights in letting us know that she “never explains anything” and yet the Banks family fall under her spell and other families all over the world are put back together again by the world’s most famous nanny.

I fell in love with Mary Poppins and Julie Andrews in 1964, just after I left school, when I went to see Walt Disney’s magical film. On reading the credits, I realised the film was based on books by P.L. Travers which I then read avidly, discovering that there were many more stories and characters than those in the film. Her forthright, quirkily funny dialogue stayed with me, brought to life in my head by Julie’s brilliant, no-nonsense delivery in the film. In the late 1970’s I tried, like many other producers, to see if I could get the stage rights to Mary Poppins – but to no avail. Over the years, I often used to think of Mary but it wasn’t until 1993 when I was introduced to her creator, the formidable Pamela Travers, that I found that she wouldn’t explain anything to me either. By then Pamela was a frail, but extremely sharp, 93 year old lady, living in her Chelsea house, in a street looking remarkably like Cherry Tree Lane, eyeing me up and down, asking me lots of questions as she batted away my own. I felt like Michael and Jane Banks, waiting to be told “you’ll do”.

After several meetings, Pamela decided that I really was interested in turning her books into a stage musical, rather than just putting the film on stage – something she had refused to allow for decades, wanting a new and different score. Once Pamela decided I could be trusted with her great creation – though she never admitted creating (a word she hated) Mary, or any of the other characters, saying that “Mary just arrived” – I was in turn able to persuade her that a stage musical could only be made by combining her stories with the key songs from the film. Realising that I was probably her best chance to achieve her long cherished dream of a stage musical, she agreed and I finally felt a musical Mary might fly after all.

Mary Poppins is, and always will be, unique; stern, dependable, businesslike, magical and yet eternally loveable. When Jane and Michael call out “we will never forget you Mary Poppins” you know that though she has flown away, the gift she has brought will remain for always and that Mary is genuinely happy that her charges are now: “practically perfect and I hope it remains so”. Though Pamela would never say where Mary came from, she did in fact give an answer to the children when they asked Mary, “where is your home?” and Mary replies, “My home is wherever I am”.

From the time Pamela entrusted me with the stage rights to her books it took me several years to persuade Disney that a new musical could be created out of both the books and the films key Sherman Brothers songs and during that time I tried to piece together an outline for a dramatic structure that would make theatre audiences want to come back for a second half. The answer of course lay with Pamela herself. In the books Mary Poppins leaves the family twice and comes back only until she’s no longer required. This gave me the clue where the interval should be and enabled me to start putting the songs from the film into new dramatic situations and decide which new songs would be needed. I remember writing much of this treatment on the quayside by the Sydney Opera House, not far from the Old Grand Opera House where Pamela had herself danced and sung in her theatrical days. When I showed what I’d done to Tom Schumacher, who had just become the new head of Disney’s Theatrical production company in 2001, he presented me with armfuls of documents from the Disney vaults written by Pamela herself and said, “It was amazing that I had focused on many of the characters and episodes from the books that Travers wanted included in the Mary Poppins film sequel that was never made”. Whenever I was stuck for an idea, I would think, “What would Pamela do or say”. By separating the film and stage rights, Pamela somehow managed from beyond the grave to get Disney and I to work together and, with the enormous contribution of a lot of talented people, especially Tom, the stage musical she always wanted has now been created and has been miraculously embraced by Disney, fans of her books, her friends, family, trustees, as well as new audiences around the world. I like to think that Pamela would also say “it’ll do” as I have no doubt that if she disapproved she would have somehow sent me her notes!

Cameron Mackintosh

Cameron Mackintosh has been producing shows for more than 40 years during which time he has put on hundreds of productions around the world including Cats, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera – the three longest running musicals of all time – and Miss Saigon. His other productions include the stage musicals Mary Poppins with Disney, Little Shop of Horrors, Side by Side by Sondheim, Follies, Martin Guerre, The Witches of Eastwick and acclaimed international revivals of My Fair Lady, Oliver! and Oklahoma!. Cameron owns seven theatres in London’s West End – the Prince of Wales, Gielgud, Queen’s, Wyndham’s, Noël Coward, Novello and Prince Edward, nearly all of which have undergone spectacular refurbishment. In 1995 his company received The Queen’s Award for Export Achievement and he was knighted in the 1996 New Year’s Honours for his services to British theatre. He is President of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and in 1990 he endowed the Chair of Contemporary Theatre for a visiting professor at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where he is also an Honorary Fellow and Member of the Court of Benefactors. In 2006 he received the national Enjoy England Award for Excellence for his Outstanding Contribution to Tourism.