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Autumn Reeser Will Appear in The O.C. Musical as Julie Cooper, Not as Taylor Townsend

Autumn Reeser
Autumn Reeser will appear in The O.C. musical, but won't be playing her character Taylor Townsend, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal

Will there be a Chrismukkah celebration? Bagels for breakfast!?

Looks like a friendly face will soon be making her way back to Orange County! An insider exclusively tells Us Weekly that Autumn Reeser will appear in L.A.’s The O.C. Musical in August.

Related: PHOTOS: The O.C. cast -- then and now

But oh, there’s a twist! Reeser, 34, will not be reprising her role as squeaky-clean high school student Taylor Townsend. Instead, the actress is set to play Sandy and Kirsten Cohen’s next door neighbor — Julie Cooper!

Autumn Reeser and Ben Mckenzie
Autumn Reeser and Ben McKenzie in The O.C.

Quick refresher: Reeser joined the fan-favorite series in Season 3 and eventually fell for the Chino kid from the wrong side of the tracks. Unfortunately, however, the musical takes place pre-Taylor so there’s no chance of Reeser’s type-A alter-ego making an appearance.

Related: PHOTOS: TV shows gone too soon

Reeser will star alongside The Flash’s Rick Cosnett as Sandy Cohen, Step By Step’s Christine Lakin as Kirsten Cohen, and Disney’s Drew Seeley as “Welcome to The O.C, bitch” himself, Luke Ward. The show will feature iconic songs from the TV show, so be prepared for some Death Cab for Cutie, Imogen Heap, Mazzy Star, and, of course, some Phantom Planet.

The Fox drama (missing those soundtracks!) ran for four seasons from 2003 to 2007, and also starred Ben McKenzie (Ryan Atwood), Adam Brody (Seth Cohen), Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts), and Mischa Barton (Marissa Cooper).

The OC Cast
The O.C. cast

Related: PHOTOS: Love on set

The team behind The O.C. Musical is the same clever one that put together the Cruel Intentions Musical, Jordan Ross and Lindsey Rosin. The 1999 film’s stars — Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Selma Blair — reunited in the audience in May. Ryan Phillippe attended the adaptation one month earlier. 

The O.C. Musical debuts at Sterling’s Upstairs at the Federal Bar in North Hollywood on Sunday, Aug. 30.

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