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American Girl dolls are hitting stages nationwide in a new musical

This is the first American Girl musical to tour nationally

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April 9, 2018 at 6:29 p.m. EDT

Mixing playtime with history, American Girl dolls are now taking the stage in a new musical. Set to travel North America this fall, this yet-to-named musical will feature an all-female cast and creative team. Variety reports that tour dates and further details will be announced soon.

“Over the past 30 years, American Girl’s beloved characters have become role models, inspiring millions of girls to think about their own character and how they want to make their mark on the world,” Katy Dickson, president of American Girl, said.

As of now, there’s no word if some of the old favorite dolls and storylines will be used or if it’ll be stocked with new inspiring characters, like 2018’s doll of the year, Luciana Vega, an 11-year-old aspiring astronaut. She’s the first American Girl doll to come with a STEM background, which the company developed with NASA scientists. That’s more future-facing than the American Girl dolls of yesteryear, whose stories were generally set in some great time of change, like the pioneer days, post-slavery, the Great Depression or the post-war boom.

This isn’t the first time American Girls have performed for a live audience. Back in the early 2000s, three American Girl stores in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles also boasted an in-house theater with the show, “The American Girls Revue,” which centered on the backstories of their historical characters. Two other smaller shows joined the theater rotation, but they were eventually shuttered in 2008. This newly announced musical will travel across the country, perhaps to cities that do not currently have American Girl stores.

The American Girl musical might give its parent company a boost. Last year, MarketWatch reported that the luxury toy brand was in trouble, hit with the same retail woes as many other ’90s brands. Its parent company, Mattel, also posted significant losses before the holiday season.