Anneliese van der Pol Stars in Jane Austen's EMMA at ATC, Beginning Tonight

Anneliese Van Der Pol will star in the title role in Jane Austen's EMMA at the Arizona Theatre Company. Performances begin tonight, December 31 and run through January 20, 2013.

Stephen Wrentmore and David Ira Goldstein co-direct the musical. Music, lyrics and book is by Paul Gordon.

One of Jane Austen's most enchanting heroines comes to life in this lavish new large-scale musical from Paul Gordon, the Tony Award-nominated composer of Daddy Long Legs and Jane Eyre. Emma Woodhouse firmly believes herself to be a most talented matchmaker, so she chooses her hapless friend Harriet as her next project. Yet despite Emma's obsession with romance, she remains clueless to the true desires of her own heart. Her meddling leads to a whirlwind of comic complications and, of course, true love.

In addition to Anneliese Van Der Pol (Vanities, Beauty and the Beast, "That's So Raven") Andrés Alcalá will play Mr. Weston, Richert Easley (Porgy and Bess) will be Mr. Woodhouse, Jon Eidson will play Robert Martin, Suzanne Grodner (Bye Bye Birdie) plays Miss Bates, Colin Hanlon (Rent, Wicked) will be Frank Churchill, Brian Herndon will play Mr. Elton, Jamison Lingle will be Jane Fairfax, Dani Marcus plays Harriet Smith, Patty Nieman will be Mrs. Weston, Shannon Stoeke plays Mr. Knightley, Jill Van Velzer plays Mrs. Elton/Mrs. Bates, and ensemble members will be Chris Karl, Sammie Lideen and Michael Schauble.

Musical direction is by Laura Bergquist and choreography by Patricia Wilcox. The creative team also includes Bill Forrester (scenic design), Yoon Bae (costume design), Michael Gilliam (lighting design) and Brian Jerome Peterson (sound design). Julie McBride will conduct.

For tickets or more information, visit: www.arizonatheatre.org.