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The Kennedy Center will officially open its new 320-seat Family Theater on December 9 with the world premiere production of Alice, Kim Hines' adaptation of Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg's children book.

The show, which is scheduled to run through January 2, is a modern updating of Alice in Wonderland with an African-American heroine. It is part of the Kennedy Center's Imagination Celebration series. Upcoming shows in that series include the world premieres of Brave No World, Citizen 13559: The Journal of Ben Uchida, and Walking the Winds: Arabian Tales.

Located in a space formerly utilized by the American Film Institute, the new theater is part of the center's $125 million, five year-commitment to performing arts education. In the words of Kennedy Center chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman, "The Family Theater provides a new home for world-class family theater performances for Washington, the surrounding communities, and visitors to our nation's capital."