Broadway and London performances of `Mary Poppins' canceled because of technical mishaps

(AP) The world's most unflappable British nanny was stopped in her tracks Wednesday night _ on Broadway and in London.

The evening performance of "Mary Poppins" at New York's New Amsterdam Theatre was canceled shortly into the second act after the mammoth Banks family house, a large imposing structure, went off track, Tom Schumacher, producer and president of Disney Theatricals, said.

Schumacher came on stage to talk to the New York audience as stagehands tried to fix the set. He likened the mishap to a California house coming off its foundation as the audience giggled. "You New Yorkers love to laugh at California," he said.

After a wait of approximately 30 minutes, Schumacher reappeared to say the performance had to be canceled.

Coincidentally, five hours earlier, the evening performance of "Mary Poppins" at London's Prince Edward Theatre was also canceled because of a technical malfunction, Schumacher said.

The New York company of "Mary Poppins," which features Ashley Brown as Poppins, is now in previews _ Wednesday evening was its 10th performance _ and opens officially Nov. 16. The show is based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the popular Walt Disney film.

As audience members left the New Amsterdam, ushers handed out fliers which had instructions on how to exchange their tickets for another performance or get refunds.

"I can come back but I feel sorry those little children who were waiting for Mary Poppins to reappear and do her magic," said theatergoer Dana Luck, a Manhattan child psychologist.

"This may be one for the record books," said Schumacher, who is producing "Mary Poppins" with Cameron Mackintosh. "We always strive for perfection on our 15 shows around the world but sometimes no matter how hard everyone is working, things do go wrong. My concern is always the safety of our cast and crew and the delight of our audience."