Shannen Doherty to Direct 90210's Musical

It's official. Shannen Doherty is coming to the CW's 90210 spinoff for multiple episodes this fall, and according to executive producer Gabe Sachs, "She's going to direct our musical."

But wait, before you 9-0 diehards start planning your trip to Broadway to see Steve Sanders in spandex with jazz hands, you should know he meant Shannen's character, Brenda Walsh, will play the director of West Beverly High's musical—on the show within the show.

Still, pretty awesome, no?

Not to mention, this could mean that Katie Holmes won't be the only TV guest star this season displaying her musical talents. I asked exec producer Jeff Judah if Shannen will be singing or dancing and he said, "It's possible. It's possible."

So where has Brenda been since we last saw her heading off to London to study acting?

According to the Cee-Dub, "Brenda became a successful theater actress, splitting her time between London and New York...West Beverly Hills High School has approached Walsh to return as a guest director for the school’s musical production."

According to producers, Shannen, Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth are the only ones who've been approached so far to return. "Those are the three," says Sachs. "We’d welcome the others if there was something appropriate that organically fit in with our stories, but we haven’t spoken to them yet."

And Judah says they do still have a deal with Tori. "She is exhausted from having the baby and when she’s up for it, she’ll be on the show."

Also:

• The Peach Pit has transitioned into a "hip coffee house" like the Urth Caffé, and there is a club upstairs. As Judah joked, "It's not going to be like [in the old show], 'Hey, it's Color Me Badd!'"
• Per Judah, many of the show's real-world lavish lifestyle locations (shopping on Robertson Boulevard, etc.) will already be familiar to viewers by way of The Hills and the pages of Us Weekly. He told us, "The audience has become more sophisticated...from following celebrity gossip."
• Quote of the Moment: "The difference between Lucille Bluth and Tabitha is that Lucille likes vodka and Tabitha likes Scotch." — Jessica Walter, formerly of Arrested Development and now of 90210, on what distinguishes her two recent TV characters

Stand by for more 9-0 dish closer to the big Sept. 2 premiere. In the meantime, what do you think of Brenda's latest turn and the possibility of others returning?