Mary Poppins flies into Auckland after Covid-19 regulations force delays

October 17, 2020

The hit musical is opening in Auckland tonight.

New Zealand's borders may still be closed to most, but that hasn't stopped a certain well-known British nanny from sneaking into Auckland. 

Mary Poppins opened its curtains in Auckland last night, and could be the first major musical performance in the world to do so since the pandemic struck.

The stages on Broadway and London's West End remain closed until 2021, but musical performances are still underway in New Zealand.

At Auckland's Civic Theatre, Mary Poppins is the first major musical production on-stage in six months.

"It's been a hell of a journey," producer Terry O'Connor told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.

"We started this process last year in July with auditions and two weeks before we were going to open over at the Bruce Mason Theatre, we were shut down because of Covid.

"For all our sins, we decided to have another go."

Rehearsals were then hit by the second community outbreak of Covid-19 in New Zealand, forcing them to stop once again.

"They started by having to do Zoom rehearsals, they then had to go and sing in masks. And then for the choreography, they had to split into groups of 10 to keep to the parameters of the Covid regulations."

Now they're preparing for a supercalifragilistic performance.

Watch the video above for the full Seven Sharp report. 

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