The 91st Academy Awards will feature a special performance by two-time Best Actress nominee, Bette Midler.
Multiple outlets confirm that Midler will sing “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns at this year’s Oscars. The song and its composer, Marc Shaiman, are nominated for best original song alongside “All the Stars” from Black Panther, “I’ll Fight” from RGB, “Shallow” from A Star Is Born and “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Midler took to Twitter Saturday to announce the news. She was immediately retweeted by the Academy.
“So, (drum roll) Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be chanteusing (that’s singing) on the Oscars on Feb 24…the nominated song from “Mary Poppins”…”The Place Where Lost Things Go” …so excited!!” she wrote.
“As a child of the ’60s, I grew up obsessed with the Mary Poppins soundtrack, learning everything about songwriting and film scoring from it,” Shaiman, who is expected to accompany Midler on piano wrote on Facebook. “As a teenager in the ’70s, I became obsessed with new star Bette Midler, who fate amazingly led me to, resulting in our 40-year relationship. Could I have ever imagined that one day Bette Midler would sing a song I co-wrote with Scott Wittman for a sequel to Mary Poppins at the Academy Awards?! My heart is exploding.”
The song was originally performed by Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns.
The Oscars will be held on February 24 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
