It's Official: HAMILTON's Phillipa Soo Will Lead AMELIE on Broadway in 2017!

Producer Aaron Harnick announces Tony Award nominee Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) will play the title role in the 2017 Broadway premiere of AMÉLIE, A NEW MUSICAL at a confirmed Broadway theater to be announced, following a limited engagement at CTG's Ahmanson Theatre from December 4, 2016, through January 15, 2017. Full casting, Broadway theater and dates to be announced soon.

Amélie captured our hearts in the five-time Academy Award-nominated 2001 French film. Now she comes to the stage in an inventive and captivating new musical directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Clybourne Park), with a book by three-time Tony Award nominee Craig Lucas (An American in Paris), music by Daniel Messé (Hem), lyrics by Nathan Tysen (Tuck Everlasting) and Daniel Messé, and musical staging and choreography by Sam Pinkleton.

Aaron Harnick said: "Phillipa Soo began the developmental process with us and she is a perfect match for this strong, intelligent protagonist who lives in the magical world Craig Lucas has written and Pam MacKinnon has envisioned. Daniel Messé and Nathan Tysen have written clever, heartfelt lyrics and a rich, romantic score that is beautifully sung by Phillipa. We are thrilled she is our Amelie."

"I am excited to step back into the shoes of this character. She is joyous, complex, and determined, in her own small way, to change the world for the better," said Phillipa Soo,

I'm so thrilled to have the opportunity to be in the room with this amazing group of artists and collaborators."

Phillipa Soo originated the role Amélie in the workshop productions of AMÉLIE, A NEW MUSICAL, and is best known for her lead role 'Eliza Schuyler Hamilton' in Broadway's critically acclaimed Hamilton, which she joined shortly after its inception. The role garnered her the Lucille Lortel Award in 2015 for Lead Actress in a Musical during the shows sold-out run at The Public Theater before heading to Broadway. The role has also earned her a 2016 Tony Award nomination in the category of "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical." After graduating from Juilliard in 2012, Soo was cast as 'Natasha Rostova' in the Ars Nova production of Dave Malloy's Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, based on Leo Tolstoy's War & Peace; the show went on to transfer Off-Broadway to Kazino. Previously on the small screen, Soo appeared on the NBC television series "Smash" in the role of Lexi.

AMÉLIE, A NEW MUSICAL has scenic and costume design by Tony Award winner David Zinn, co-lighting design by Tony Award nominee Jane Cox and Mark Barton, sound design by Tony Award nominee Kai Harada, projection design by Drama Desk Award winner Peter Nigrini, musical direction by Kimberly Grigsby, vocal arrangements by Kimberly Grigsby and Daniel Messé, and orchestrations by Tony Award winner Bruce Coughlin.

The musical follows the mesmerizing journey of the inquisitive and charmingly shy Amélie who turns the streets of Montmartre into a world of her own imagining, while secretly orchestrating moments of joy for those around her. After discovering a mysterious photo album and meeting a handsome stranger, Amélie realizes that helping others is easier than participating in a romantic story of her own.

Center Theatre Group Producing Director Douglas C. Baker said: "We are thrilled to be producing "Amélie, A New Musical" in Los Angeles before it heads off to Broadway, and excited that our Ahmanson Theatre audience will be the first to see Phillipa Soo in the lead of this mesmerizing show."

In 2015, AMÉLIE, A NEW MUSICAL had its critically acclaimed world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and topped "Best Theater of 2015" lists in the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

The official website is AmelieBroadway.com

AMÉLIE, A NEW MUSICAL is produced for Broadway by Aaron Harnick, Harbor Entertainment, Triptyk Studios and SBR Productions.

Phillipa Soo is represented by Don Buchwald & Associates, Inc. and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.

Check out highlights of the Berkeley Rep production below:

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos