Re-Envisioned GIGI to Play Pre-Broadway Engagement at Kennedy Center in January 2015; Eric Schaeffer to Direct

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's beloved musical GIGI will play a pre-Broadway engagement in the Eisenhower Theater atThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (David M. Rubenstein, chairman, Michael M. Kaiser, president) in Washington, D.C. in January 2015.

Directed by Eric Schaeffer (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet), in a re-envisioned adaptation by acclaimed British playwright and Emmy-nominated screenwriter Heidi Thomas ("Cranford," "Upstairs Downstairs," "Call the Midwife"), GIGI is planning to open on Broadway in 2015 following the Washington, D.C. engagement.

Producer Jenna Segal said on the announcement of the Kennedy Center run, "I am delighted that Michael Kaiser has offered us an elegant home for this elegant show. It is only appropriate that we can debut Gigi for D.C. audiences who have experienced Eric Schaeffer's wonderful productions at Signature Theatre and his recent production of Follies that travelled on to eight Tony nominations on Broadway."

Director Eric Schaeffer said, "I am of course thrilled to be back at the Kennedy Center. I can't imagine a better place to premiere this re-imagined production of Gigi than Washington. This city, designed by French-born American architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant, is a perfect match for this wonderful show."

In an earlier announcement about the production Ms. Segal described GIGI as follows: "GIGI lets us escape to an idyllic place where the girl gets the guy and love does conquer all. Heidi Thomas has restored GIGI to her rightful place at the centre of the story, backed by a funny, warm family of women that show the men in the world around them the finer meaning of life and love."

Both witty and charming GIGI includes such numbers as "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and "I Remember it Well". This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the debut of GIGI on Broadway. Originated by Colette, GIGI evolved from a Broadway play by Anita Loos starring an unknown Audrey Hepburn into the 9-time Academy Award-winning Best Picture of the same name, by Lerner and Loewe and directed by Vincente Minnelli. The movie, which was the last of the classic MGM musicals, was then made into the Tony Award winning Broadway musical in 1973.

Legendary designer and 91 year-old artist Jeremiah Goodman has crafted a defining image that captures the spirit of this new production.

GIGI is produced by Jenna Segal and Foresight Theatrical serves as General Manager.

A specific schedule, casting and the full creative team will be announced at a later date.