'Gigi' to return to Broadway

A new musical production of Gigi is coming to Broadway.

Created 40 years ago by Anita Loos, the musical is based on the well-known novel of the same name by French writer Colette and the Oscar-winning 1958 film that starred Leslie Caron. (Audrey Hepburn originally played the heroine in a popular 1951 play.) Loos’ musical didn’t last long when it originally opened in 1973; Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s music and lyrics won a Tony but the show closed after only 103 performances.

British playwright and TV screenwriter Heidi Thomas (Upstairs Downstairs) is writing the newest adaptation of the classic romantic comedy about Gigi, a young woman living in La Belle Époque Paris who is groomed to be a companion to the wealthy, bored playboy, Gaston. “Gigi lets us escape to an idyllic place where the girl gets the guy and love does conquer all,” said producer Jenna Segal, in a statement. “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. This is ‘chic lit’ musical theatre!”

The new production, directed by Eric D. Schaeffer (Follies), hopes to return to Broadway in the 2013-2014 season. Casting has not yet been announced.

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