Vanessa Hudgens will play the title role in the new Broadway production of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s beloved Oscar and Tony Award-winning film and stage musical, GIGI.
“I started performing in musicals from a young age, and it has always been my dream to be on Broadway,” Hudgens said. “I cannot wait to get back on stage, singing and dancing these songs and living in GIGI’s glamorous world.”
Based on the 1944 novel by Colette, GIGI was first adapted for the Broadway stage in 1951 by Anita Loos, with an unknown Audrey Hepburn in the title role; then, following their success with My Fair Lady, the team of Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) adapted the material for the 1958 movie musical, winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The film, directed by Vincente Minnelli, is widely considered the last great MGM movie musical, and is beloved for its wit, charm and sumptuous costume and production design. GIGI includes such numbers as “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” “I Remember It Well” “The Night They Invented Champagne” and the Oscar-winning title song, “Gigi”. GIGI also won the Tony Award for Best Score in 1974.
GIGI will be directed by theatre helmer Eric Schaeffer (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet), in a re-envisioned adaptation. “From the moment we met Vanessa, we knew we found our Gigi,” director Schaeffer commented. “She is smart, gorgeous, a wonderful singer and is so luminous on stage. You cannot take your eyes off of her.”
GIGI will open on Broadway in 2015 following the Kennedy Center engagement in the Eisenhower Theater at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. from January 16-February 12, 2015. Opening night is January 29, 2015.
Tickets will go on sale on Monday, September 22 at 10:00 AM to Kennedy Center Members and on Wednesday, October 1 at 10:00 AM to the general public.
Visit www.kennedy-center.org for further details.
For more information, visit www.GigiOnBroadway.com