Mary Poppins heads for Broadway in 2006

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Umbrella in hand, Mary Poppins is bound for Broadway.

The hit musical starring the ageless London nanny, based on the P.L. Travers stories and the 1964 Walt Disney film, is scheduled to begin performances October 14, 2006, at the New Amsterdam Theatre for a November 16 opening, according to Thomas Schumacher, openly gay president of Disney Theatrical Productions.

And Disney's The Lion King will move from the New Amsterdam Theatre to its new home, the Minskoff Theater, on June 13. The Minskoff is being renovated to accommodate the Tony-winning production.

"I'm happy that the New Amsterdam will be the venue where Broadway will be introduced to the residents of 17 Cherry Tree Lane," said Schumacher, referring to the address of the London family where the no-nonsense Poppins is blown by a windstorm to tend to the household and children.

Mary Poppins will feature many of the original songs from the 1964 film, which won five Acadamy Awards, including best actress for Julie Andrews's performance in the title role.

The score was written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who won two Oscars--best score and best song ("Chim Chim Cheree"). Their music also includes such songs as "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Let's Go Fly a Kite," and "Feed the Birds."

The new stage production features new songs and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. It was created in collaboration with producer Cameron Mackintosh, the man behind such hit shows as Cats, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon.

The movie of Mary Poppins played to an estimated 200 million people when it was released. Casting for the Broadway production is to be announced at a future date.

Since opening in New York in 1997, The Lion King has been seen by more than 33 million people, with productions currently also running in London; Tokyo; Melbourne; Nagoya, Japan; Hamburg, Germany; Scheveningen, Netherlands; along with two U.S. national tours. (AP)