Blankenbuehler, Whitty, Miranda, Kitt, Green & Lacamoire Assemble For 'BRING IT ON' Musical Project

An all-star, Tony Award winning creative team has been assembled to create Bring It On: The Musical, an original musical set in the world of competitive cheerleading.

The award-winning creative team for Bring It On: The Musical includes an array of talented and innovative individuals drawn from the top ranks of the Broadway Theatre World. Andy Blankenbuehler (Tony Award-winning choreographer for In The Heights) will direct and choreograph. Jeff Whitty (Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Avenue Q) will write the book. Bring It On: The Musical will feature music by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Tony Award winner for In the Heights) and Tom Kitt (Tony Award winner for Next to Normal), and lyrics by Amanda Green (High Fidelity). Tony Award winner Alex Lacamoire (In The Heights, Wicked) will serve as orchestrator, arranger and music supervisor.

"The explosive world of cheerleading heightens so naturally to the stage. I can't imagine a more perfect team to bring this musical to life on stage," says Andy Blankenbuehler. "Jeff Whitty has come up with an enticing, original book, and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tom Kitt, two of Broadway's most talented composers, are joining their amazing creative forces to write the score. With Amanda Green collaborating on lyrics and musical supervision by Alex Lacamoire, this team is a director and choreographer's dream."

The writers of Bring It On: The Musical have conceived an original new musical that will feature all new and original characters.

Bring It On: The Musical will be produced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions along with Charlie Lyons and Armyan Bernstein of Beacon Communications. Day-to-day production will be overseen by Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson. General Management will be under the direction of Nina Essman and Nancy Nagel Gibbs of 321 Theatrical Management.

"For all of us at Universal, being a part of the Bring It On world has given us great personal and professional satisfaction, and now to work with these great artists on creating this new musical is an even more exciting challenge," says Glenn Ross of Universal Pictures Stage Productions.

The Producers of Bring It On: The Musical anticipate a developmental regional production in early 2011, with a national tour to follow.

Andy Blankenbuehler (Director & Choreographer). In addition to the Tony Award for Best Choreography, Andy Blankenbuehler also earned the Lucille Lortel Award, the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for his work on In the Heights. Known for his exuberantly athletic, street-inflected dance moves, Blankenbuehler is also choreographer of the recent Broadway production of 9 to 5, the London production of Desperately Seeking Susan, and the Broadway revival of The Apple Tree. Other recent projects include Waiting For The Moon (music by Frank Wildhorn), the world premiere of the musical A Little Princess (music by Andrew Lippa), the Paper Mill Playhouse production of A Wonderful Life, as well as the off-Broadway play Burleigh Grimes (music by David Yazbek). He conceived, directed and choreographed the hit Caesars Palace production Nights On Broadway and has appeared as a guest choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance. As a performer, Mr. Blankenbuehler has danced on Broadway in Fosse, Contact, Man of La Mancha, Saturday Night Fever, Steel Pier, Big and Guys and Dolls.

Jeff Whitty (Book) won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Avenue Q. Plays include The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler (currently running at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The Hiding Place, The Plank Project, Suicide Weather and Balls. Theaters presenting his work include the Atlantic Theater Company, South Coast Repertory, the Vineyard Theater, The New Group, and New York Stage and Film/Vassar. He is currently at work on the libretto for a musical version of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. As an actor, he has appeared regionally, Off-Broadway, and in film and TV. www.Whitless.com.

Lin-Manuel Miranda (Music) is the composer-lyricist of Broadway's 2008 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical In the Heights, with Lin-Manuel receiving a Tony Award for Best Score, as well as a nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He wrote the first incarnation of In the Heights during his sophomore year at Wesleyan University, CT. Off-Broadway: In the Heights: nine Drama Desk nominations, including Best Music, Best Lyrics and won the award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance; the Lucille Lortel Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical; the Obie Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics; a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance and the Clarence Derwent Award, both for Mr. Miranda's performance. Recently, Lin-Manuel contributed new songs to the upcoming revival of Stephen Schwartz' Working and worked with Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim on Spanish translations for the 2009 Broadway Revival of West Side Story. He has performed for President Obama and the First Family at the White House for its first-ever Poetry Jam and was selected to be a Master Teacher for the 2009 Mercer Songwriter's Project at Northwestern University. He is the recipient of the 2007 ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award. His TV and film credits include "House," "The Electric Company," "The Sopranos" and the Sex and the City movie. Lin-Manuel is a co-founding member of Freestyle Love Supreme, a hip-hop comedy group that tours comedy festivals all over the world.

Tom Kitt (Music) received 2009 Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for Next to Normal, which had successful productions at both Second Stage (Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Score; Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Drama League nominations) and Arena Stage (nominated for five 2009 Helen Hayes Awards including Best Musical). He composed the music for High Fidelity (Broadway) and From Up Here (MTC), and his original songs have been featured in film and TV. He recently created new orchestrations for the CTG/DeafWest production of Pippin. As a musical director, conductor and arranger (Broadway and Off-Broadway), shows include 13, Hair, Laugh Whore, Urban Cowboy and Debbie Does Dallas. Last spring, Tom was the musical supervisor/arranger/orchestrator for Everyday Rapture at Second Stage, and his string arrangements appear on the new Green Day album 21st Century Breakdown. He is the proud leader of The Tom Kitt Band (www.tomkittband.com).

Amanda Green (Lyrics) wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical High Fidelity, based on the popular book and film. She also wrote additional material for the musical Debbie Does Dallas, along with Tom Kitt. In 2004, she was tapped by Arthur Laurents to write additional lyrics for a revival of Hallelujah Baby at Arena Stage. Amanda is a recipient of the 2004 Jonathan Larson Award. She also received an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award Nomination (Best Score), a Garland Award (Best Score) and ‘Critics Pick' of The Los Angeles Times, for her lyrics for the musical comedy Up the Week Without a Paddle (music by Curtis Moore).

Alex Lacamoire (Orchestrations) is currently music arranger for Wicked. He served as orchestrator and musical supervisor for High Fidelity, music director and arranger/orchestrator for In The Heights, for which he won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations, and Bat Boy: The Musical. After working with Stephen Schwartz on regional productions of Working (Long Wharf) and Pippin (Paper Mill), Alex is proud to be collaborating with him on Broadway.