The star of ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘The Sound of Music’ is coming to Australia for the first time to present her show ‘An Evening With Julie Andrews’.

Seventy eight year old Andrews no longer sings, following surgery to her vocal chords, but there’s no doubt that her legions of fans will be queuing up to get tickets to the show which reminisces through her magnificent life and career.

Andrews began her career on the London stage as a child and built a successful career on stage in both the USA and England. Andrews shot to fame in the lead role of ‘My Fair Lady’. She was a musical theatre success in the role of Eliza Doolittle both in Broadway and in London. However when they came to make the film version the role went to Audrey Hepburn because Andrews had no film experience. The singer had the last laugh though. She was picked to star in Disney’s ‘Mary Poppins’ – a role won her an Oscar, beating Hepburn in ‘My Fair Lady’.

Andrews’ third film was even bigger, ‘The Sound of Music’ has been an enduring family favourite since it was first released in 1965 and it stands as the third highest grossing film of all time. For her Australian shows Andrews will be joined on stage with Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich in the film.

At the end of the 60’s Andrews married Director Blake Edwards and acted in some of his most famous films such as ‘10’ and ‘S.O.B’. Andrews and Edwards worked together on the 1982 film ‘Victor / Victoria’ – a musical which explores themes of homosexuality, cross dressing and drag performances. The film was adapted into a Broadway musical in 1995 with Andrews returning to the lead role.

To a younger generation of movie fans Andrews is maybe better known for her roles as the Queen Clarisse in ‘The Princess Diaries’ and the voice of Queen Lillian in the Shrek films.

‘An Evening With Julie Andrews’ is at The Riverside Theatre on May 21, tickets from Ticketek.    

OIP Staff