After resounding commercial and critical success, HAMILTON finally has arrived in Toronto at Ed Mirvish Theatre now through May 17, 2020.  The Musical centering around America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has been setting the world on-fire since its debut off-Broadway at The Public Theatre in New York back in 2015.  Since then it has won a whopping 11 TONY Awards and Pullitzer Prize with an inclusive, modern way of telling American history through Hip-Hop and R&B.  The Production makes its way now in Toronto – known as the Phillip Ty our – with a Touring Cast led by Joseph Morales in the leading role. Morales will be in Toronto till end of March, when the role will be taken over by a new star.  As expected, ticket sales have  been feverish with Torontonians resorting to a daily digital lottery in hope of tickets.

See some of this talented Cast!

Joseph Morales as Alexander Hamilton

Jared Dixon as Aaron Burr

Stephanie Jae Park as Eliza

Marcus Choi as King George

Elijah Malcomb as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton

Desmond Sean Ellington as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison

Ta’Rea Campbell as Angelica

Darilyn Castillo as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds

Warren Egypt as Lafayette/Jefferson

Aaron Albano – Swing

Trevor Miles – Ensemble

DeMarius Copes – Ensemble

Conroe Brooks – Standby

Jonathan Christopher – Ensemble

Gabe Hyman – Swing

More here.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

For the many of us who still haven’t see HAMILTON, Disney will be releasing a Film version of the 11-time TONY Award-winning Musical.

The live-capture Film breaks new ground, transporting its audience into the world of a Broadway show in a new way. The Cast in the Film will include Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award® nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.

The Film was shot in June 2016 at at The Richard Rodgers Theatre.

HAMILTON will stream on Disney+ Friday, July 3, 2020.

(Photo credit: Joan Marcus)

The star sightings continue to pour-in and our Amanda Gilmore doesn’t disappoint! See some of the talent she spotted out and about at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Day Three!

DOWNHILL is about a couple married with kids, who barely escape an avalanche on a trip, only to be forced to confront finally how they feel about one another.

Will Ferrell

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME centers on “pre-Hamilton” Lin-Manuel Miranda and the improv Hip-Hop movement he was part of, the Documentary following their reunion in 2019.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

ZOLA centers on a Stripper who goes on a wild road trip to Florida. This Film is getting a startling amount of buzz out of the Festival and stars Riley Keough.

Nicholas Braun

FOUR GOOD DAYS is about a mother who helps her daughter in recovery from substance abuse. Glenn Close and Mila Kunis both star in the Drama.

Mila Kunis

THE FIGHT is a Documentary which centers on the tsunami of lawsuits against the Trump administration which came about shortly after he got elected.

Kerry Washington (Producer)

BLACK BEAR is about a female Filmmaker who turns to the woods after having some creative struggles, only for the woods to summon her inner demons.

Aubrey Plaza

Sarah Gadon

Christopher Abbott

Wilmer Valderrama

SNOWPIERCER (Netflix TV Series) centers on a world that has become a frozen wasteland and the group of people left who inhabit a train which circles the globe. Parasite Director Bong Joon Ho serves as a Producer on the Series which stars Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs.

Daveed Diggs

(Photo credit: Amanda Gilmore)

Officially holding the record for longest gap for a sequel at 54 years, Mary Poppins Returns and is poised to do it in a huge way. The Rob Marshall-directed Musical starring Emily Blunt in the iconic titular role, is fresh-off four Golden Globe nominations including Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical (Emily Blunt), Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and Best Original Score.

In town to promote the Film is English Actress Emily Mortimer, who plays the adult version of central Mary Poppins character Jane Banks. Mortimer has drawn acclaim for her performances in a duo of Martin Scorsese films Hugo and Shutter Island, Woody Allen‘s Match Point, plus roles in HBO’s The Newsroom. Oxford-trained Mortimer returns to the City, her first visit in a while, having starred in 2007’s Toronto-made Lars and the Real Girl alongside Ryan Gosling. Joining her is best friend Dolly Wells, with whom she created Comedy Series Dolly & Em. Wells starred in 2018’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Lee Israel’s (Melissa McCarthy) love interest, Anna.

See the Trailer:

Gracing the Blue Carpet at Scotiabank Theatre were a bevy of familiar Canadian names who showed their pure excitement for the Film including the likes and families of Ben Mulroney, Carlos Bustamente, Morgan Hoffman, Lauren Orlando and Sarah Fisher.

We ask Mortimer about how she came to be involved with Mary Poppins Returns.

“I met Rob (Marshall) at his apartment. Someone told me that he and his producing partner John (DeLuca) saw me on a morning chat show and thought I’d be a good for Jane Banks. I don’t know if that’s true, but I met him and he was so inspiring why we needed Mary Poppins to return to our lives at this particular moment in time where life feels confusing, painful and strange. I walked out of the meeting convinced we needed to make this Movie.” .

We asked her the most daunting thing about becoming Jane Banks.

“As a child, she’s one of the most famous children in cinematic history played so brilliantly by Karen Dotrice. How do you begin to step into those tiny little shoes? I think with everyone involved with the Movie, it comes from a place of love. Everybody approached this Film loving the original and not wanting to let it down, wanting to give it their all and make it special, yet also different in its own light. There was no cynicism. It was a special experience.” .

We ask Dolly Wells what the legacy of Mary Poppins means to her.

“It means my childhood. I wish I could remember the first time I saw it. It reminds me of Christmas, my family and the fire roaring. The excitement of being a child and that anything is possible – that a nanny can have a never-ending bag of magic, can click her heels and burst into song. It has an appealing sense of joy and hope.” .

We congratulate her on Can You Ever Forgive Me?‘s two Golden Globe nominations.

“I had such nice times. Marielle Heller (Director) should have been nominated. We had a really great times. Melissa is a dream – everything you’d imagine. The performance by the incredible Richard E. Grant is charming and brilliant. Marielle has a delicate touch and this is only her second film.” .

We ask Wells about her childhood best friend, Mortimer and at what point they realized they could be collaborative partners.

“20 years ago, it was kind of her idea. She said, ‘Why don’t we write something together?’. Before that, I’d always be leaving things in a drawer that I’d written. I was too shy. It took about ten years to make a movie and now we are writing something else.” .

See some Snaps of the night:

Emily Mortimer

Dolly Wells

Sarah Fisher

Ben, John, Brian and Isabel Mulroney

Morgan and Sydney Hoffman

Carlos Bustamente and Family

The Reklaws

See some highlights from the Blue Carpet:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release MARY POPPINS RETURNS Wednesday, December 19, 2018.

Photos taken on the NIKON D3400
Video taken on the Samsung S7 Plus

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada/Amanda Gilmore/Mr. Will Wong)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa and a chance to win Advance Passes to see DISNEY’S MARY POPPINS RETURNS on Thursday, December 13, 2018.

Synopsis:
In Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” an all new original musical and sequel, Mary Poppins is back to help the next generation of the Banks family find the joy and wonder missing in their lives following a personal loss. Emily Blunt stars as the practically-perfect nanny with unique magical skills who can turn any ordinary task into an unforgettable, fantastic adventure and Lin-Manuel Miranda plays her friend Jack, an optimistic street lamplighter who helps bring light—and life—to the streets of London.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate your City. Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance!

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release MARY POPPINS RETURNS Friday, December 19, 2018.

©Disney

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

Some new Character Posters to pump you up for one of this Holiday’s hottest new releases, MARY POPPINS RETURNS!

See the Trailer:

See the new Character Posters:

Mary

Topsy

Ellen

William Weatherall Wilkins

Jack

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release MARY POPPINS RETURNS Friday, December 19, 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

A new Featurette has surfaced for MARY POPPINS RETURNS! Take a glimpse at the Music and magic behind this eagerly-awaited Sequel directed by Rob Marshall and starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury and Ben Whishaw.

Synopsis:
In Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” an all new original musical and sequel, Mary Poppins is back to help the next generation of the Banks family find the joy and wonder missing in their lives following a personal loss. Emily Blunt stars as the practically-perfect nanny with unique magical skills who can turn any ordinary task into an unforgettable, fantastic adventure and Lin-Manuel Miranda plays her friend Jack, an optimistic street lamplighter who helps bring light—and life—to the streets of London.

See the Featurette:

Right in-time for Christmas comes MARY POPPINS RETURNS! Check-out this gorgeous new Poster and Trailer!

Synopsis:
In Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” an all new original musical and sequel, Mary Poppins is back to help the next generation of the Banks family find the joy and wonder missing in their lives following a personal loss. Emily Blunt stars as the practically-perfect nanny with unique magical skills who can turn any ordinary task into an unforgettable, fantastic adventure and Lin-Manuel Miranda plays her friend Jack, an optimistic street lamplighter who helps bring light—and life—to the streets of London.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release MARY POPPINS RETURNS Friday, December 19, 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

Hot off their appearance at the Oscars, the new Trailer for MARY POPPINS RETURNS starring Lin-Manuel Miranda and Emily Blunt has just arrived!

Synopsis:
“Mary Poppins Returns” stars: Emily Blunt as the practically-perfect nanny with unique magical skills who can turn any task into an unforgettable, fantastic adventure; Lin-Manuel Miranda as her friend Jack an optimistic street lamplighter who helps bring light—and life—to the streets of London; Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks; Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks; and Julie Walters as the Banks’ housekeeper Ellen; with Colin Firth as Fidelity Fiduciary Bank’s William Weatherall Wilkins; and Meryl Streep as Mary’s eccentric cousin, Topsy. The film also introduces three new Banks’ children played by Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and newcomer Joel Dawson. Angela Lansbury appears as the Balloon Lady, a treasured character from the PL Travers books and Dick Van Dyke is Mr. Dawes Jr., the retired chairman of the bank now run by Firth’s character.

See the Teaser:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada release MARY POPPINS RETURNS Christmas 2018.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)