Last month Broadway's original Mary Poppins, Ashley Brown, helped re-open Disney Theatrical's home with a series of concerts called "Live at the New Am." During the run Brown got to live out her dream when her young daughter finally got a chance to see her mom perform live on Broadway, and NY1's Frank DiLella was there.

What You Need To Know

  • Ashley Brown, who has performed for Disney on Broadway as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast" and as the original Mary Poppins, helped re-open Disney's New Amsterdam Theatre with a series of concerts last month 

  • During the run, Brown's 5-year-old daughter finally got a chance to see her mother perform live on Broadway for the very first time

  • Brown says her dream has always been to be able to perform for her children, and to do it while also reopening the New Amsterdam for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown made the day extra special 

 Frank DiLella: "You have a young daughter. Does she know that mom was Beauty in 'Beauty and the Beast' and she was Mary Poppins on Broadway?"


Ashley Brown: "She's 5, so she's definitely getting there. She's extremely sassy and all knowing, I don't know where she gets it from."

Frank DiLella: "Exactly! Will she be here at the New Am to see you in concert?"

Ashley Brown: "Yes. And I'm so super emotional about that because she'll come to the Sunday matinee just because obviously she wasn't here when I was playing Mary Poppins and I always thought... I was like, I wonder if my daughter will ever get to see me on Broadway, you know? Nothing is ever promised or for sure, so when this came up I said to Daniel, my husband, I was like, 'She gets to see me.'"

On the morning of Live at the New Am’s closing matinee, we met with Ashley’s husband to document their daughter Emaline’s first Broadway experience.

Daniel Wisler: "So this is the big day. It's the first time Emailne is seeing her mommy on Broadway, to see her singing show as we call it. So we're really excited. We have a lot of family coming. A little bit anxious too; that's right at nap. So we'll see how we do. But she's very excited."

Once Emaline rendezvoused with her grandparents and cousins, she and her dad headed inside to watch her mom perform on one of New York’s most beautiful stages.

Ashley Brown: "Doing this show this weekend was just a dream come true. It's honestly hard to put words to it. The audiences were so excited and they were so there with us, and it's a weekend I'll never forget. And the cherry on top was having all of my family here, and my baby girl Emaline got to see me on Broadway for the first time, which is every actor's dream is for their child to be able to see them do what they love. And so I'm so thankful for my husband Daniel and Emaline, and it was just such a magical day. I can't even take it."