As Mary Poppins celebrates its fifth anniversary on Broadway, a beloved New York City landmark ensured the event would be "practically perfect." On November 15, the Empire State Building invited Mary Poppins star Steffanie Leigh and members of the cast to help light the iconic building in honor of the Disney musical's milestone. After the building's lights were ...

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Mary Poppins is gearing up to celebrate its fifth Broadway birthday on November 16. Though the show's title nanny delights the Banks family of 17 Cherry Tree Lane, young Jane and Michael also find themselves under the supervision of nasty temporary nanny Miss Andrew. Ruth Gottschall, a skilled comic actress who has appeared on Broadway in ...

Age & Hometown: 24; Talent, OR

Current Role: Making her Broadway debut as the “practically perfect” title nanny in Mary Poppins

On the Road: Growing up near the home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Leigh was exposed to the arts at an early age and traveled east to major in musical theater at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduation and a brief ...

Steffanie Leigh will make her Broadway debut in the title role of Mary Poppins at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre on October 11, replacing Laura Michelle Kelly, who will give her final performance on October 9.

Leigh has played the magical nanny for the past eight months on the show’s North American tour. Regional credits include Jacques Brel is ...

The cast of Mary Poppins welcomed a special guest to the New Amsterdam Theatre on July 17 as Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry and his family came to visit the magical nanny. After the show, Petry, who lost an arm after throwing a grenade away from his fellow soldiers during combat in Afghanistan, ventured backstage to ...

Laura Michelle Kelly will return to the Broadway production of Mary Poppins as the title character on July 19 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Ashley Brown played her final performance on July 17.

Kelly won an Olivier Award for originating the role of Mary in the show's West End production. She has previously appeared on Broadway in Fiddler on ...

After a two-show day, Broadway’s pet-owning performers love nothing more than coming home to their number one fan: a loyal four-legged friend. In honor of the annual Broadway Barks dog and cat adoption event, coming up on July 9 in Shubert Alley, we asked stage stars to show their puppy—and kitty!—love by telling us all about their ...

British singing sensation Cheryl Cole, a member of the pop group Girls Aloud as well as a successful solo artist, is headed stateside as a judge on Fox's upcoming singing competition The X-Factor. Before Cole begins sifting through thousands of talented American hopefuls in the show's audition rounds, she caught some truly gifted performers showcasing their craft by ...

Saturday Night Live veteran Maya Rudolph is walking down the aisle in the new funny flick Bridesmaids, and on May 11 the pregnant actress "stepped in time" at Broadway's Mary Poppins. Rudolph, who is expecting her third child with partner Paul Thomas Anderson, took a break from her busy Bridesmaids promotional schedule to take in the magic of the ...

Broadway's favorite nanny will have some new children to look after when Brigid Harrington and Lewis Grosso join the cast of Mary Poppins as Jane and Michael Banks respectively on May 10. Kara Oates will also begin alternating the role of Jane on May 24.

Mary Poppins marks the Broadway debut for Harrington and Grosso. Oates previously appeared in ...