Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville will present the new pop chamber musical "Academy," by John Mercurio, conceived and created by Andrew Kato.

Inspired by Goethe's "Faust," this award-winning show in the New York Musical Theatre Festival also took top honors at the Daegu International Musical Festival in South Korea last July.

Kato had the idea to set a musical in a prep school. He collaborated with Mercurio, who wrote the book and the score.

Kato and Mercurio further refined Academy and the show was selected from more than 300 works to be one of just a dozen presented at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in October 2009. It was while attending this festival that Academy caught the eye of Aurora Theatre's Anthony Rodriguez and Ann-Carol Pence.

"It is my dream for Aurora to discover or create a Tony award-winning musical," said Pence, associate producer and resident music director. "By producing ‘Academy,' we are taking a big step in being the kind of theatre to fulfill that dream."

At the NYMF Awards, "Academy" won for Excellence in Writing and for Outstanding Ensemble Performance.

The New York Times wrote of the show, "It has a cast of handsome, personable young men; poignant, funny lyrics; and a plot that addresses morality and character when a bet between two older boys over which one can influence a classmate more has devastating consequences. All this show needs for the big time is a set and a larger theater."

The cast includes some favorites from recent productions, including Jeremy Wood, Lowrey Brown, Jacob York and Nick Arapoglou.