Broadway actor choreographs Mary Poppins at Rainbow Stage

The timeless tale of Mary Poppins it’s a rainbow stage on the 15th of August, featuring the work of choreographer Josh Assor.

Assor is a Winnipeg native who recently returned to the city after years of working in New York City. He called choreographing the beloved musical a “full circle moment”, as Assor also played the role of Neleus on Broadway and the 1st national tour of Mary Poppins.

“It’s the show that brought me to the U.S. and brought me to New York City which has been home for the last 15 years. And it’s just so exciting to be back. It’s a theatre that I grew up performing in so there’s a lot of fun memories being here so it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.

Assor said he took inspiration from working first-hand on the show on Broadway, seeing if there was anything he could improve on while also adding his flair to the choreography.

“One of the exciting things as a choreographer is that you get to play in so many different worlds. We tap, we do ballet, there’s partner work, there’s jazz,” he said. “There’s this huge, vast world to play with and each number is so unique. The way Step In Time plays is so different than the way (Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious) plays. It’s just this giant playground for choreographers that’s just a dream show for us, always.”

Also part of his inspiration — the unique experience of being able to play the stage at Canada’s largest and longest-running outdoor theatre.

“Being in Rainbow Stage, watching how the sun naturally sets throughout the show has been a really guiding factor in creating the work as well.”

The show features Colleen Furlan as Mary Poppins, with director Alexandra Herzog making her directorial debut at Rainbow Stage after choreographing past shows like Cinderella and The Little Mermaid.

Audiences have from August 15th to September 1st to see the show.