Thank Heaven! Gigi, Starring Vanessa Hudgens, Confirmed for Broadway's Neil Simon

//assets.playbill.com/editorial/1e60467df64e8346db60c9a0e890302d-gigreh.jpg — Vanessa Hudgens in rehearsal Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Gigi, which begins performances Jan. 16 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, stars Vanessa Hudgens, who will make her Broadway debut in the title role.

Hudgens told Playbill.com, "The fact that there are some amazing women who have played Gigi — Leslie Caron, Audrey Hepburn — those are some pretty epic footsteps to follow in! I thought, 'Why not take that on? That'll be a good challenge!' Also, the Lerner and Loewe music is amazing. I grew up on My Fair Lady, so that energy that they have in their music lives on throughout everything that they do, so it has that same spirit in this. And, the character… I feel like it's rare that you get to find a character that has such an amazing transformation, character arc and someone who is so pure and honest and true to who they are. She's an amazing role model. I wanted to be her, so now I get to be."

Read the full story on why Hudgens has the "It Factor" for Gigi here.

She is joined by Tony Award winner Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza, Sister Act, Cinderella) as Mamita, Corey Cott (Newsies) as Gaston Lachaille, three-time Tony Award nominee Dee Hoty (The Will Rogers Follies, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, Footloose) as Aunt Alicia, two-time Tony Award nominee Howard McGillin (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Anything Goes) as Honoré Lachaille and Steffanie Leigh (Mary Poppins) as Liane d'Exelmans.

Rounding out the cast are Cameron Adams, Kathryn Boswell, Max Clayton, Madeleine Doherty, Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Hannah Florence, Alison Jantzie, Brian Ogilvie, James Patterson, Justin Prescott, Jeffrey C. Sousa, Manny Stark, Tanairi Sade Vazquez, Richard White, Amos Wolff and Ashley Yeater. Opening night on Broadway is set for April 8 at the Neil Simon Theatre (250 West 52nd Street). Tickets will go on sale Jan. 23 at 10 AM at Ticketmaster.com.

Gigi, with book and lyrics by Lerner and music by Loewe, features a new book adaptation by Emmy-nominated screenwriter Heidi Thomas ("Upstairs Downstairs," "Call the Midwife") and is choreographed by Emmy Award winner Joshua Bergasse (On the Town, "Smash") and directed by Eric Schaeffer (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet).

The production is playing a pre-Broadway engagement in the Eisenhower Theater at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., through Feb. 12 (opening night is Jan. 29). Tickets for the Kennedy Center engagement are available at Kennedy-Center.org.

Scenic design is by Tony Award winner Derek McLane with costume design by five-time Tony Award winner Catherine Zuber, lighting design by four-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz, sound design by Tony Award nominee Kai Harada, hair design by David Brian Brown and make-up design by Jon Carter.

James Moore is the musical director, John Miller is the music coordinator, and orchestrations are by August Eriksmoen. Vocal and incidental music arrangement is by Matt Aument with dance music arrangements by Sam Davis. Casting is by Tara Rubin Casting, CSA. Production management is by Juniper Street Productions, and the production stage manager is Bonnie Panson.

Based on the 1944 novella by Colette, Gigi was first adapted for the Broadway stage by Anita Loos in 1951, with an unknown Audrey Hepburn in the title role; then, following their success with My Fair Lady, Lerner (screenplay and lyrics) Loewe (music) adapted the material for the 1958 movie musical (directed by Vincente Minnelli), winner of nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Gigi includes such numbers as "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," "I Remember It Well," "The Night They Invented Champagne" and the Oscar-winning title song "Gigi."  This new adaptation of Gigi will feature all of the songs from the movie, including two songs, "The Parisians" and "Say a Prayer for Me Tonight," that were dropped from the previous stage version. The production also includes four songs written and added to the stage score by Lerner and Loewe in 1973, "Paris is Paris Again," "I Never Want to Go Home Again," "The Contract" and "In This Wide, Wide World."

Gigi will be produced on Broadway by Jenna Segal, Segal NYC Productions, Ilya Mikhailovic, Eion and Mia Hu, Darren P. Deverna/Jeremiah J. Harris and Merrie L. Davis. General management is by Foresight Theatrical.

Visit GigiOnBroadway.com.