NATCHEZ — Little Lord Fauntleroy is coming to Natchez, and it only took him 12 years to get here.

“Little Lord Fauntleroy” is the next musical production set to be performed by the Natchez Little Theatre in September.

The theatrical adaptation of the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett was done by Natchez native Chandler Warren, and he chose Natchez Little Theatre as the place to debut this project.

“I was born and raised in Natchez, and I knew that Natchez Little Theatre was a first class theater from my family and friends that still live in Natchez,” Warren said. “So when I was looking for a venue to debut “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” Natchez was a good fit.”

He is the brother of Mary Jo McNerney and Joan Gandy.

Warren said he began working on the adaptation 12 years ago and about 18 months ago he began talking with Layne Taylor, executive director of Natchez Little Theatre, about debuting the show locally.

“I worked on other projects in the interim,” Warren said. “But this was the first time I had adapted something for a cast larger than maybe six or eight characters. I would work on it for a time and put it away, but always come back to it.

“It has become a special project for me.”

Warren is an entertainment lawyer based in Los Angeles, but has been writing since he was a law student at Columbia School of Law.

“I told a friend while I was in my second year of law school that I needed a break,” Warren said. “I said ‘Let’s put on a show.’”

Warren wrote his first script with friend Robert W. Miles who is the composer for “Little Lord Fauntleroy.”

That first show sold out for its only performance, and the next year, we wrote another show and scheduled it for two nights.”

Warren said that was the first time a law school had undertaken such a venture.

“But now they all do them,” he said.

After completing law school, Warren began a career in entertainment law, but still nurtured his love for theater and writing.

“When I was working for a large firm in New York and we would be working late into the night, I would need to take a writing break,” he said. “So, I would step away and write a little bit. I never finished anything during the break, but it was a start.”

Warren said he considered a career in writing, but decided rather to combine his passions for law and entertainment. He has worked as an entertainment lawyer in both New York and Los Angeles.

“My father kept saying ‘You’ve got to earn a living,” Warren said.

In addition to “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” Warren has written music for singer Eartha Kitt, written a book of humorous poetry, adapted multiple children’s productions, wrote the theme song and was a writer for the 1980s soap opera “Texas,” has adapted the J.M. Barrie, the author of “Peter Pan,” book “The Old Lady Shows her Medals” and has several novels waiting to be published.

But for now, Warren said he is focusing on getting “Little Lord Fauntleroy” on stage. He has traveled to Natchez four times to see the progress on the show.

“The cast is delightful for me to work with,” he said. “They are so enthusiastic and that makes me enthusiastic all over again.”

And just as delighted as Warren is to see his work come alive, Taylor said the opportunity to debut a production the caliber of this is something special.

“People don’t chose to debut projects in Mississippi normally,” Taylor said. “With the exception of three people in the cast, no one has ever had the opportunity to create a role the way they are with this production. I’m not sure the cast understands completely what an excellent opportunity they have been given.

“It means a lot to have this happening here.”

The debut production was made possible by a $21,750 grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission, Taylor said.

The musical tells the story of a young American boy Cedric Erroll who learns he must follow his grandfather, Lord Dorincourt, as the Earl. Lord Dorincourt insist that Cedric come to England to prepare him for his earldom.

“He has to teach him to be properly English,” Warren said.

Adapting a novel into a musical can be complicated, Warren said because dialogue directly from prose isn’t necessarily natural.

“It is probably 50 percent (Burnett’s) words and 50 percent mine,” he said. “It was important for me to keep the story intact, but also to make it real for the stage.”

Lord Dorincourt despises Americans and never hides his dislike of Cedric’s mother, Mrs. Errol. But through the course of time, the plays begins in the summer of 1899 and ends New Year’s Eve 1899, Lord Dorincourt’s hard exterior is melted away to reveal a more loveable character, Warren said.

“The story is all about love,” Warren said. “It is a love story between a mother and a son and vice versa, a grandfather and grandson and even the maid falls in love.”