Thank Heaven! Howard McGillin & Corey Cott Will Join Vanessa Hudgens in Broadway-Bound Gigi

Two-time Tony nominee Howard McGillin, Corey Cott and Steffanie Leigh will invent champagne with the previously announced Vanessa Hudgens in Gigi. The musical is set to play a pre-Broadway engagement at the Kennedy Center, running at the Eisenhower Theater January 16, 2015 through February 12. Directed by Eric Schaeffer, the re-imagined new production, adapted by Heidi Thomas, will officially open on January 29.

McGillin will play Honore Lachaille. He received Tony nods for Anything Goes and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Other Broadway credits include The Phantom Of The Opera, Kiss of the Spider Woman, She Loves Me and The Secret Garden. Screen credits include South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut and The Swan Princess. Cott will play Gaston Lachaille. He made his professional debut starring on Broadway for two years as Jack Kelly in Newsies and will make his television debut this fall in Madam Secretary on CBS; he appeared in a summer workshop of Gigi opposite Hudgens. Leigh will play Liane d’Exelmans and has appeared on Broadway in Mary Poppins. Screen credits include The Good Wife, Members Only and They’re Out of the Business.

The cast will also feature Cameron Adams, Madeleine Doherty, Hannah Florence, Jenifer Foote, Allison Jantzie, Sam Lips, Ian Paget, James Patterson, Justin Prescott, Manuel Stark, Tanairi Vazquez and Ashley Yeater. Additional casting will be announced later.

Based on the 1944 novel by Colette, Gigi was first adapted for the Broadway stage in 1951 by Anita Loos, with an unknown Audrey Hepburn in the title role. Subsequently Alan Jay Lerner (screenplay and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) adapted the material for the 1958 movie musical, winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1973, the tuner played 103 performances on Broadway with Karin Wolfe as Gigi and Daniel Massey as Gaston, earning a Tony Award for Best Original Score. Gigi features the memorable tunes “Thank Heaven For Little Girls,” “I Remember It Well,” "The Night They Invented Champagne," “It’s a Bore,” "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight" and more.

Choreography will be by Joshua Bergasse, with scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Catherine Zuber, lighting design by Natasha Katz and sound design by Kai Harada.