Breaking News: Bernadette Peters to Record ELOISE for New Book Combo

It's Eloise's sixtieth birthday-though she's still not a day over six. BroadwayWorld.com has learned that fans of the series can now celebrate the original classic storybook with a CD narrated by Broadway's Bernadette Peters. This is the second time this week that the iconic character has been in the news, as 'Girls' star Lena Dunham re-introduced the world to the illustrator of the series in her new HBO short, 'It's Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise.'

Eloise is a very special little girl who lives at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. She may not be pretty yet, but she's definitely already a real Person. She loves learning about people who aren't boring.

Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, Peters has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings. She is one of the most critically acclaimed Broadway performers, having received nominations for seven Tony Awards, winning two (plus an honorary award), and nine Drama Desk Awards, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards. Regarded by many as the foremost interpreter of the works of Stephen Sondheim, Peters is particularly noted for her roles on the Broadway stage, including in the musicals Mack and Mabel, Sunday in the Park with George, Song and Dance, Into the Woods, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, A Little Night Music, and Follies.

Kay Thompson (author) was a singer, dancer, vocal arranger, and coach of many MGM musicals in the 1940s. The Eloise character grew out of the voice of a precocious six-year-old that Miss Thompson put on to amuse her friends. Collaborating with Hilary Knight on what was an immediate bestseller, Kay Thompson became a literary sensation when Eloise was published in 1955. The book has sold more than two million copies to date. Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight created four more Eloise books, Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmas, Eloise in Moscow, and Eloise Takes a Bawth.

Hilary Knight (illustrator), son of artist-writers Clayton Knight and Katharine Sturges, was educated at the Art Students League, where he studied with Reginald Marsh. Besides the Eloise books, Hilary Knight has illustrated more than fifty books for children, six of which he wrote himself. He lives and works in New York City, not far from The Plaza Hotel.

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'It's Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise,' finds Hilary Knight looking back on his life as an artist and his connection to the immensely popular Eloise books, written by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Knight. For 60 years, Eloise - the precocious six year-old who lives in New York's Plaza Hotel - has charmed her way into the hearts of young readers, one of them being actress/director/writer Lena Dunham, whose Eloise tattoo led to a friendship with Knight, a creative kindred spirit. Whimsical and enlightening, the film features revealing interviews with Lena and Hilary, as well as family members, friends and writers who have been inspired by Knight's work and childlike personality. Showcasing Hilary's own handheld video footage, as well as original Eloise drawings brought to life through delightful animation, It's Me, Hilary: The Man Who Drew Eloise shines a light on a talented and inspired artist, who has persevered through professional and personal obstacles - including his estrangement from Thompson, who forbade him from ever drawing Eloise again - all while embracing the lighter side of life.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos