Robert Jess Roth, who staged Beauty and the Beast for Disney on Broadway in 1994, was originally attached to direct the project based on Tim Burton's 2010 film of the Lewis Carroll fantasy. Choreographer Matt West was also slated to choreograph. Ashford will now take on both duties, according to the industry paper.

Disney has yet to make an official announcement about Ashford's involvement.

Burton will oversee the production. Producer Richard D. Zanuck is also connected to the project. A composer or songwriting team is not yet in place.

As previously reported by Playbill.com, Linda Woolverton is authoring the stage adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. She penned the screenplay for Disney's "The Lion King" and is also the Tony Award-nominated book writer of Beauty and the Beast, Aida and Lestat.

The Tim Burton film, which was released in 3-D, starred Mia Wasikowska as Alice, with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. It earned $116 million in its opening weekend and has grossed $1 billion worldwide.