Vanessa Hudgens to star in 'Gigi' revival on Broadway

Broadway will be filled with the sounds of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe again thanks to a new revival of Gigi. The production will star actress, singer, and former Disney star Vanessa Hudgens as the title character.

The production was first announced back in March 2013 and was expected to start later that year, but putting the revival together took some time. Now that Signature Theatre has picked Hudgens to star, the production is ready to go.

Hudgens will be directed by Eric Schaeffer and Joshua Borgasse is the choreographer. Heidi Thomas (BBC’s Hail the Midwife) wrote a new book. Before it hits Broadway, the production will be staged at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, beginning on Jan. 16.

Hudgens told The Washington Post that she is excited to play the role, but wondered if “I could really look like I could be a Parisian in the 1900s. I don’t think they had many Filipinos there then.”

For her audition, she sang “I Don’t Understand The Parisians” and nailed it. She was definitely surprised to get the part.

Gigi has had an interesting road to Broadway, since Lerner and Lowe actually wrote the musical for MGM and it became the 1959 Best Picture Oscar winner, directed by Vincente Minnelli. The story, based on the Collette novel and Anita Loos’ play, didn’t hit Broadway until 1974 for a short-lived production. Producers hope that Thomas’ overhauled book will do much better with critics.

Gigi’s score includes the Oscar-winning title song, along with “Thank Heaven For Little Girls,” “The Night They Invented Champagne” and “I Remember It Well.”

image courtesy of Nancy Rivera/ACE/INFphoto.com

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