BREAKING NEWS: Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty's LITTLE DANCER to Premiere at Kennedy Center in October 2014!

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced it will produce the world premiere original musical production of Little Dancer featuring book and lyrics by Tony Award winner Lynn Ahrens, music by Tony Award winner Stephen Flaherty, and direction and choreography by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman. The musical will begin performances in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater in October 2014. Casting and additional details about Little Dancer will be announced at a later date.

Part fact, part fiction, and set in the harsh backstage world of the Paris Opera Ballet, Little Dancer is inspired by the young ballerina who posed for Edgar Degas and became, inadvertently, the most famous dancer in the world. Torn by her family's poverty, her debt to the artist and the lure of wealthy men, Marie struggles to keep her place in the ballet corps-a girl on the verge of womanhood, caught between the conflicting demands of life and art.

Ahrens and Flaherty commented, "It feels as if our Little Dancer is about to step off her pedestal at the National Gallery of Art and spring to life on stage. We're delighted to be returning to the Kennedy Center with a brand new musical."

Mr. Flaherty and Ms. Ahrens's musical Ragtime, with book by Terrence McNally and directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, received a major revival at the Kennedy Center in 2009 and transferred to Broadway later that year.

Ms. Stroman is currently in Chicago to direct and choreograph the world premiere musical Big Fish. The production features music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by John August and makes its Broadway debut this October. In 2009, she co-produced the Mel Brooks tribute segment for The Kennedy Center Honors. That year, the full program won the Emmy for Outstanding Television Special.

"I am happy the last major musical production of my tenure at the Kennedy Center will be a new work with such a talented creative team," stated Kennedy Center president Michael M. Kaiser. "I look forward to working with Lynn, Stephen, and Susan in the months ahead."

Next month, the Kennedy Center opens its new production of The Guardsman. A play by Ferenc Molnár featuring a fresh adaptation by Richard Nelson and direction by Gregory Mosher, The Guardsman includes a talented cast that includes Finn Wittrock, Sarah Wayne Callies, Julie Halston, and Shuler Hensley. Next season, the Kennedy Center will produce a major revival production of Side Show in association with La Jolla Playhouse. The musical features book and lyrics by Bill Russell and music by Henry Krieger who are making revisions to the show before its debut in La Jolla this fall.

Lynn Ahrens (Book & Lyrics) won Broadway's Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Ragtime. Her musicals include Once on This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Christmas Carol, Lucky Stiff, Dessa Rose, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones, and the recent world premiere of Rocky. Film and television: Anastasia, Camp, Schoolhouse Rock and many others. Honors include Tony, Emmy, and Olivier Awards and multiple nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Grammy. Longtime collaborator, Stephen Flaherty. ahrensandflaherty.com

Stephen Flaherty (Composer) composed the musicals Ragtime, Seussical, Once on This Island, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones, Dessa Rose, Lucky Stiff, Loving Repeating and others. Films include Anastasia and others. His latest musical, Rocky, written with longtime collaborator Lynn Ahrens and Thomas Meehan, recently premiered in Hamburg. Awards include the Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and multiple nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy. ahrensandflaherty.com.
Susan Stroman (Director & Choreographer). Broadway: The Scottsboro Boys, The Producers, Contact, Crazy for You, Show Boat, Oklahoma!, Young Frankenstein, The Frogs, The Music Man, Thou Shalt Not, Steel Pier. Off-Broadway: Flora the Red Menace; And the World Goes 'Round; MSG's A Christmas Carol. Ballet: Double Feature (NYCB) and For the Love of Duke (NYCB), But Not For Me (Martha Graham), Take Five...More or Less (PNB). Film: Center Stage, The Producers: The Movie Musical. A five-time Tony Award-winner, her work has been honored with Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Lucille Lortel, George Abbott, and a record five Astaire Awards.

Now in its 42nd season, the Center's achievements as a commissioner, producer, and nurturer of developing artists have resulted in more than 200 theatrical productions, dozens of new ballets, operas, and musical works. The Center has co-produced the original productions of Annie, the American premiere of LES MISERABLES, and Titanic. In the past 11 years, the Center has produced the Sondheim Celebration (six Stephen Sondheim musicals produced in 2002), Tennessee Williams Explored (three of Williams' classic plays), August Wilson's 20th Century (Wilson's complete ten play cycle produced as staged and costumed readings), major revival productions of Mame and Carnival!, and Terrence McNally's Nights at the Opera featuring three works by the playwright performed concurrently on three Kennedy Center stages. The Kennedy Center production of Ragtime transferred to Broadway in 2009 and received six Tony nominations. The major revival production of Follies transferred to Broadway in 2011, which was followed by a successful run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. The production received eight Tony nominations and received one award. Each year, the Kennedy Center hosts the Page-to-Stage new play festival, featuring more than 40 theaters from the D.C. metropolitan area, all with a mission to produce and support new work.

Musical Theater at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Adrienne Arsht Musical Theater Fund.

For more information about the Kennedy Center, please visit www.kennedy-center.org.