Broadway Aspiring ‘Gigi’ Gets Tryout in Seattle in May

A concert version of Lerner and Loewe’s Tony Award winning musical Gigi will be presented by the 5th Avenue Theatre May 16 – 18, 2014. The musical, set to open on Broadway in 2015, will be presented in a concert setting that features a wide array of Seattle talent alongside a newly re-created book by Heidi Thomas and direction by Eric Schaeffer.

5th Avenue’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong shared, “We are so thrilled to present this musical confection on our stage. 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.”

Gigi is a romantic comedy about a young woman who is groomed by her family to be a companion for a wealthy playboy until they both realize that it is true love. The production is set in La Belle Epoque in turn of the century Paris, France. The story was one originally written in 1944 as a novella  by the French feminist Colette. In 1951 it was adapted into a stage play starring Audrey Hepburn and then transformed into a film spectacular starring Leslie Caron in the title role. The film went on to win nine Academy Awards. In 1973 it was transformed into the Tony Award winning Broadway musical.

Songs from the musical include classics such as, “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” “The Night They Invented Champagne,” “I Remember It Well,” “Say a Prayer for Me Tonight,” and of course, “Gigi.”

A fully-staged production of Gigi that will be directed by Mr. Schaeffer is set to debut at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in early 2015, prior to a Broadway opening.