Theater News

Will Ahrens and Flaherty's New Musical Little Dancer Head Out West?

After a sold-out run at the Kennedy Center, the production has set its sights on another venue.

Tiler Peck and Boyd Gaines took on the roles of Young Marie van Goethem and Edgar Degas in the Kennedy Center production of the new Ahrens and Flaherty musical Little Dancer.
Tiler Peck and Boyd Gaines took on the roles of Young Marie van Goethem and Edgar Degas in the Kennedy Center production of the new Ahrens and Flaherty musical Little Dancer.
(© Paul Kolnik)

After a sold-out run at the Kennedy Center this past fall, the new Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty musical Little Dancer is expected to play a summer 2015 engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. The musical's second staging was mentioned by director/choreographer Susan Stroman in The New York Times, though it has not yet been confirmed by Center Theater Group.

Little Dancer explores the creation of the Edgar Degas sculpture of the same title, and the artist's relationship with the work's model, a young ballerina named Marie van Goethem. The production ran at the Kennedy Center from October 25-November 30.

Leading the company of the Washington, D.C. run were four-time Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines as Edgar Degas and New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck as Young Marie van Goethem, with Tony nominee Rebecca Luker as Adult Marie. The cast also included Tony winner Karen Ziemba, Kyle Harris, Michael McCormick, Jenny Powers, and Michele Ragusa.

The Little Dancer creative team included Beowulf Boritt (scenic design), William Ivey Long (costume design), Ken Billington (lighting design), and Kai Harada (sound design), with music supervised by David Loud and conducted by James Moore.

Click here to read TheaterMania's review of Little Dancer.