The critically acclaimed musical Mary Poppins was a spoonful of sugar for South Australia’s economy, generating $23.4 million for our state.
It was the highest attended production since the pandemic with record-breaking attendances of more than 110,000 people at the Adelaide Festival Centre during its almost eight-week run, with almost 20% of visitors from regional South Australia, interstate or overseas.
A new economic study by Barry Burgan Economic Research Consultants has found it brought an estimated total expenditure of $23.4 million to South Australia including $20.5 million of new money.
The supercalifragilisticexpialidocious result demonstrates not only the incredible cultural benefits of the arts with many children experiencing the theatre for the first time, but also the extraordinary economic return with thousands of people visiting Adelaide to see the show boosting our hotels, restaurants and small businesses.
In addition to countless sold-out performances, Mary Poppins attracted rave reviews with audiences and critics declaring it “practically perfect” (The Advertiser), “full of heart and joy… a must see” (GlamAdelaide), “an absolute triumph” (Barefoot Review), “brimming with energy, magic, and family-friendly delight” (InReview) and “filled with charm.” (Broadway World).
The new Australian production of Mary Poppins is produced in Australia by Cameron Mackintosh, The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand and Michael Cassel Group.
As put by Andrea Michaels
It was an absolute joy to have Mary Poppins in South Australia, delighting audiences from across the state and delivering a whopping $23.4 million to our state’s economy.
Mary Poppins is the most widely attended musical in South Australia since the pandemic with more than 110,000 people experiencing its magic at the Adelaide Festival Theatre.
Its success demonstrates not only the incredible cultural benefits of the arts with many children experiencing the theatre for the first time, but also the extraordinary economic return with thousands of people visiting Adelaide to see the show boosting our hotels, restaurants and small businesses.
As put by Adelaide Festival Centre CEO Douglas Gautier AM
Mary Poppins was one of our most successful shows ever at Adelaide Festival Centre and it’s wonderful to see the positive impact it’s had on the cultural landscape of our city and to the state’s economy.
We are thrilled audiences embraced this magical musical with such enthusiasm and it attracted so many people to Adelaide to enjoy the excitement of live performance.
We thank theatregoers and the Mary Poppins company for a stellar season and look forward to announcing more blockbuster shows at Adelaide Festival Centre for audiences to enjoy in the future.
As put by Michael Cassel Group CEO and producer Michael Cassel AM
It was an enormous pleasure to bring Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s incredible new production of Mary Poppins to Adelaide for the very first time.
We couldn’t have been more thrilled with the way South Australian audiences embraced the world’s favourite nanny with such warmth and enthusiasm and we remain forever grateful for their wonderful support of the show.
The success of Mary Poppins is testament to how much audiences in Adelaide love seeing first class, blockbuster productions and we look forward to visiting again and continuing our tremendous partnership with the Adelaide Festival Centre.
