--Mary Poppins is bound for Broadway.

The hit musical starring the ageless London nanny, based on the P.L. Travers stories and the 1964 Walt Disney film, is scheduled to begin performances Oct. 14, 2006, at the New Amsterdam Theatre, for a Nov. 16 opening, according to Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatrical Productions.

And Disney's The Lion King will move from the New Amsterdam Theatre to its new home, the Minskoff Theatre, on June 13, 2006. The Minskoff is being renovated to accommodate the Tony-winning production.

Mary Poppins will feature many of the original songs from the 1964 film, which won five Acadamy Awards, including best actress for Julie Andrews' performance in the title role.

--Two weeks after having surgery for breast cancer, Maria Friedman will open Thursday - as scheduled - in "The Woman in White," the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on Wilkie Collins' Victorian mystery novel.

Friedman started preview performances Oct. 28 at Broadway's Marquis Theatre, but left the show six days later after discovering a lump in her left breast. She returned to the musical Nov. 10, missing only a week of performances. During her absence, understudy Lisa Brescia played the role of Marian Holcombe, the musical's adventurous heroine.

Friedman, in an interview with The New York Times, said she would begin radiation treatments in December. "I'm not going for hero status," the actress told the newspaper. "I'm doing what I can do, with enormous support."

The musical, adapted by Charlotte Jones and with lyrics by David Zippel, is directed by Trevor Nunn, who supervised such Lloyd Webber shows as "Cats," "Starlight Express," "Aspects of Love" and "Sunset Boulevard."

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