Theater News

Grey Gardens Will Move to Broadway in October

Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson in Grey Gardens
(Photo © Joan Marcus)
Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson in Grey Gardens
(Photo © Joan Marcus)

Grey Gardens, the critically acclaimed musical that recently finished a four-month engagement at Playwwrights Horizons, will begin a Broadway run this October at the Walter Kerr Theater, where Doubt will close on July 2. No specific dates for the start of previews or the opening have yet been announced. The show will be produced on Broadway by East of Doheny in association with Playwrights Horizons.

Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson will reprise their starring roles; news of further casting will be announced shortly. Once again, the show will be directed by Michael Greif and will have musical staging by Jeff Calhoun. The Off-Broadway design team of Allen Moyer (sets), William Ivey Long (costumes), Peter Kazcorowski (lighting), Brian Ronan (sound), and Wendall K. Harrington (projections) will reunite for the Broadway production.

Written by Doug Wright, Michael Korie, and Scott Frankel, Grey Gardens is based on the 1975 documentary film of the same name title. It concerns heiresses Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, “Little Edie,” who ended up living as recluses in a run-down East Hampton mansion. The show’s first act takes place in 1941, while the second act is set in 1973. Ebersole plays “Big Edie” in the first act and “Little Edie” in the second.

The show was recently named Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical by the Outer Critics Circle, and Ebersole picked up the group’s trophy for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. On May 5, Ebersole received the Drama League’s highest honor, the Distinguished Performance Award, for her work in Grey Gardens. The show is nominated for 12 Drama Desk Awards; that ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 21.

At Playwrights Horizons, the cast of Grey Gardens also included John McMartin, Sara Gettelfinger, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Potts, Bob Stillman, Audrey Twitchell, and Sarah Hyland.