Directed by Susan Schulman (Little Women), the reading will star Will Chase and Julia Murney, both who are now appearing in the Broadway musical Lennon.
Lippa's other credits include the Manhattan Theatre Club version of The Wild Party, john & jen and adding songs to the last Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
A Little Princess is the story of a little girl with a great big imagination. Separated from her father and the open-hearted Africans who have helped him raise her, young Sara Crewe is sent to boarding school in London. When things go badly for her there, her imaginative powers come to the rescue "helping to transform a drab institution into a place of magic and mystery. As the girl wins the affection of the other boarders she draws the ire of Miss Minchin, the dour headmistress; Sara is made a servant to the institution when her father is reported dead, and his fortune seized. Sara counters all Miss Minchin's best efforts to degrade her with the grace and virtue of a little princess."
According to a festival spokesperson, last year's event directly led to five of the eight shows securing productions. They were: The Drowsy Chaperone (to be done at the Ahmanson Theatre, November 2005), The Flight of the Lawnchair Man (Goodspeed Musicals, May 2005), The Girl in the Frame (Goodspeed Musicals, November 2005), Striking 12 (TheatreWorks Palo Alto, December 2004) and Winesburg, OH (The Arden Theatre Company, October 2005).
A Little Princess presentations will take place Sunday, Sept. 25, at 8 PM, and Monday, Sept. 26, at 5 PM. Admission is by invitation only and closed to the general public. For more information, visit www.NAMT.net(http://www.namt.net/).