What's Up, Laura Michelle Kelly? The Mary Poppins Star's Jolly Holiday on Broadway

Laura Michelle Kelly, the dark-haired beauty with a devoted following in the U.K., is having a ball. The Olivier Award-winning actress is headlining Broadway’s Mary Poppins in the title role, which she originated in the West End. Kelly, who has a long list of credits to her name, including the London productions of Whistle Down the Wind, Les Miserables, Mamma Mia!, My Fair Lady, The Lord of the Rings and Speed-the-Plow as well as the most recent Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof and the film version of Sweeney Todd. Broadway.com recently caught up with the bubbly Brit about her practically perfect Broadway return.

What made you want to return to this role?
I think with Mary, I never quite put her to sleep. I also had a dream of doing it in New York. In many ways, it’s been like a whole brand new project because it’s been four years since I played it in London. In other ways, it’s like meeting an old friend again. I just thought, when they asked me, I had to do it.

How does this Broadway experience compare to your Broadway debut in Fiddler on the Roof in 2004?
Oh, well the shows are extremely different. You can’t compare apples and oranges; they both taste good.

Have you heard from [original London and Broadway star] Gavin Lee?
Yes! He sent me flowers on my opening night. I know that they’ve just opened in L.A. [Lee is appearing in the Mary Poppins tour], and are having a brilliant time.

Did you have a nanny growing up?
Not in the slightest. I was running around wild in the fields of a farm. I couldn’t have been further away from the experience of having a nanny.

I know you don’t have any children, but I wondered if playing Mary Poppins has changed how you would feel about raising kids.
Oh gosh. I love kids even more now. I sponsor two children with Compassion, which is a charity that helps support children in other countries. You’re supporting their education, and you get to hear their progress. They’re like pen friends.

You’ve done so many different kinds of roles. Is there anything you especially loved doing?
I really love the thing I’m doing at the time, but I loved working with Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum [in Speed-the-Plow at the Old Vic]; they taught me so much. I think the act of being in a play and not relying on your voice or songs was a good acting challenge for me. I always want to take on roles that are difficult because I’m an adrenaline junkie.

Let me ask you a very non-Mary question. Who’s been your sexiest co-star?
My sexiest co-star in the whole of my career? Well, quite obviously, I’d have to say Johnny Depp. I don’t think other people will mind me saying Johnny Depp, would they?

Tell me about working with him in the Sweeney Todd movie.
My first take with Johnny was so funny. He came in and did a line, and I was just completely enthralled watching him, I didn’t say anything. I didn’t say my line! The whole experience of doing the film was amazing. Having my throat cut and having to do that 12 takes—looking down and seeing this blood dripping down my body—that was something!

What was more nerve-wracking: meeting the Queen or meeting Julie Andrews?
Doing the show in front of Julie Andrews was the most nerve-wracking experience! I grew up watching her in The Sound of Music movie every day as a child. When I met her, I was definitely more nervous than when I first met the Queen. I normally don’t get nervous. It takes a lot to scare me.

What is she like?
She has a Mary Poppins personality. She really is perfect. She talked about passing the baton at the end of the show, when she came and watched the gala performance in London. It blew me away. I was close to tears. That and the fact that she proceeded to learn [the choreography to the number “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”]. She learned all the moves to it—spelling it out with her arms—very quickly. It took me weeks to do that!