B'WAY DIRECTOR: I SAW DARIUS HOLDING THE UMBRELLA AND SHOUTED, "THAT'S MY MARY POPPINS!"; JULIE ANDREWS NOT AMUSEDLOS ANGELES - At Michael Jackson's molestation trial that ended in acquittal last month, his entourage created nearly as much a stir as the "King of Pop." Every day when Jackson crept toward the courthouse, he was flanked by body guards, make up artists, assorted aids and Darius Figgins.
Even if you don't know who Figgins is, you know what he did. Figgins, a 31 year-old former limo driver from Liverpool, is the tall man who held the giant umbrella over Jackson's head, despite the fact it never rained.
Now Broadway is looking to cash in on Figgins' fame. He's been tapped to star as the most famous umbrella wielder of them all when he heads an all-male cast next month in a nude revival of "Mary Poppins."
Figgins has no acting experience, but Broadway director John Rando ("Urinetown") loved the way Figgins worked the umbrella. "I was watching Michael walk into court one day," Rando said, "and I let out an instinctive gasp when I saw Darius. 'That's my Mary Poppins!'"
But the original Mary Poppins from Disney's 1964 classic movie, Julie Andrews, isn't keen an an all-male version. "In my mind, it's not 'Mary Poppins.' It's some gay show that has no right to be on broadway where families can see it."
Figgins rejects the criticism that the show is not wholesome entertainment. "John [Rando] tells me there's not going to be any nudity at all while the child actors are on stage," he said. "As soon as they come on, I'm to lower my massive umbrella so that it covers the ah -- unmentionable parts."
