Re-Envisioned GIGI to Play in Concert at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre; Set for D.C., Broadway in 2015!

The 5th Avenue Theatre will present a concert version of Lerner and Loewe's Tony Award-winning musical, GIGI, May 16 through the 18th, 2014. The musical, which has been announced for a Broadway opening in 2015, will be performed in a glamorous concert setting, complete with a revised book.

"We are so thrilled to present this musical confection on our stage," said 5th Avenue's Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong. "Based on the magnificent 1958 Academy Award-winning film, this rarely-produced musical boasts some of the most heavenly melodies in the musical theater cannon, and in a concert setting, these treasured songs will truly shine."

A fully-staged production of Gigi directed by Mr. Schaeffer, with choreography by Josh Bergasse, will debut at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in early 2015, prior to a Broadway opening.

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's beloved musical GIGI will take the stage at The 5th as it has never been seen before, in a concert setting featuring an array of Seattle talent, with a newly re-envisioned book by Heidi Thomas, and direction by Eric Schaeffer.

Set in the magical world of La Belle Époque in turn-of-the-century Paris, GIGI is a romantic comedy about a young woman groomed in the custom of her family to be a companion to a wealthy playboy, until the two unexpectedly realize this is in fact true love.

From the creators of My Fair Lady, GIGI features beloved songs including "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "The Night They Invented Champagne," "I Remember It Well," "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight," and of course, "Gigi."

Young GIGI's story is a modern classic, written originally as a 1944 novella by the French feminist Colette. It was adapted into a stage play in 1951 that starred a then-unknown Audrey Hepburn as GIGI. A cinematic hit in 1958, GIGI, with French ingénue Leslie Caron in the titular role, was the toast of Hollywood, winning a record-breaking nine Academy Awards. The movie, which was the last of the classic MGM musicals, was then made into the Tony Award winning Broadway musical in 1973.

Acclaimed British playwright and screenwriter Heidi Thomas is best known for the BBC series Cranford, Upstairs Downstairs, andCall the Midwife. Director Eric Schaeffer staged the recent Follies and Million Dollar Quartet on Broadway.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is one of the nation's premier incubators for new musical theater. Since 2002, the celebrated company has produced 15 new musicals. To date, eight (including the 2012 hit First Date) have moved on to Broadway premieres, earning a combined 14 Tony Awards, including two for Best Musical (Hairspray and Memphis). A ninth, Disney's Aladdin, has been announced for a Broadway debut in February of 2014. The 5th Avenue Theatre is also known for its world class, critically acclaimed productions of musicals chosen from both the contemporary canon and the Golden Age of Broadway.

Unique in its Chinese-inspired design, this exquisite theater opened in 1926 as a venue for vaudeville and film. In 1980, the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre began producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater. Today, under the leadership of Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong, Managing Director Bernadine C. Griffin and Producing Artistic Director Bill Berry, The 5th Avenue Theatre attracts an annual attendance of more than 287,000 and ranks among the nation's largest and most respected musical theater companies.

In addition to its main stage productions, The 5th Avenue Theatre is also committed to encouraging the next generation of theatergoers through its extensive educational outreach programs which include: The Adventure Musical Theatre Touring Company, The 5th Avenue Awards Honoring High School Musical Theater, the Rising Star Project, Show Talks with Albert Evans, Curtain Up!, the Student Matinee Program, and Spotlight Nights.

Tickets for the concert will go on sale to the general public January 31, 2014. Tickets may be purchased online at www.5thavenue.org, by phone at 206-625-1900, or at the Box Office at 1308 5th Avenue in downtown Seattle.