Lee Joins Brown on POPPINS Tour

"Producers Cameron Mackintosh and Thomas Schumacher are pleased to announce that Gavin Lee, who originated the role of Bert in the hit Broadway and London productions of Mary Poppins, will be joining Ashley Brown, who originated the title role on Broadway, for the show’s eagerly anticipated North American National Tour.

Both Brown and Lee are currently starring in Mary Poppins on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre (Broadway at West 42nd Street) and will remain on The Great White Way until a date to be determined. Their replacements in the Broadway company will be announced at a later date. The Mary Poppins North American Tour begins performances in Chicago at The Cadillac Palace Theatre on March 11, 2009. After Chicago, the tour is scheduled to play The State Theatre in Cleveland, The Fox Theatre in St. Louis, and The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, with additional cities, venues and dates to be announced..."

https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=28173

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Holy smokes! This is going to be one much talked-about tour. A reminder of the glory days when the original Broadway stars toured the country in their respective shows: Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly in GYPSY, Carol Channing in HELLO, DOLLY!, etc.

Fantastic news! They're both ridiculously talented.

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This is great News!!! He was outstanding when I saw him in the show back in March. I'm definetely going to be catching this tour. I can't imagine that it wouldn't make a stop in D.C. somewhere. This is actually one show that I think would fit the Kennedy Center Opera House very nicely, since it has such a gigantic set.

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I'm so happy for him. He's ridiculously talented and in such a fun show.

This is so exciting. I can't wait to catch the tour with them if it makes it to Philly. (Not that I won't go to NY to see it again this summer!)

WOW! Looks like I'll be heading out of town to see it!

Gavin and Ashley being in the show makes it SUCK even more that it wont be part of Buffalo's Season next year.

Oh well...

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I wish it was coming to Florida. I would love to be able to see both of them.

It seems like Gavin Lee just won't give this role up...

I'm glad though, because he sure is good at it.

I imagine Disney is paying him a ton of money, considering he will not only be living an ocean away from his home, but will be touring around a country that is an ocean away from his home.

Really want to see this, come to FLORIDA!

I hope it makes to the Kennedy Center too, but look how long it took Lion King! (Though I hope to have moved to NYC before the tour starts!) It made it to Norfolk, VA and what seems like every other major city before landing there this summer.

Does this mean that they will probably stay with the show in NYC until the tour launches?

Regardless, excellent news!

James I agree with you -- this show would be fantastic at the Kennedy Center.

Great news about Gavin Lee doing the tour.

I wonder who will be the replacements for Broadway company?

This is good news indeed. They are both great and I am glad that they are going to be part of the tour. This won't make any difference to me because I live in NYC and have seen the show on Broadway a couple of times and loved their performances in it very very much.

This is very much a treat for anyone who is able to see the tour.

Everything else I was going to say was said. That they aren't going to cast/announce the replacements for them until a bit later on considering that they are leaving in november along with the rest of the original cast. And, that Lee wants to travel around the country because he has never seen it before.

I don't think it is going to be hard for Lee to do any traveling in America considering the fact that his wife is American. I do know that he is here on a work visa and not part of any equity exchange if that makes any difference in terms of him traveling around the country. I know from Jenny Galloway being in Les Miserables that a work visa means that he would have to come back to England for a bit before going back to America to work. I would think that he would go back there for a brief bit of time between his run in the Broadway production ending and the tour starting.

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