Grey Gardens Hits Broadway in October w/ Ebersole and Wilson

East of Doheny (Kelly Gonda, Founder and President; Beth Williams, Executive Producer), in association with Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director), has announced that the acclaimed and award-winning new musical GREY GARDENS, which recently concluded its sold out World Premiere production at Playwrights Horizons, will open on Broadway this Fall with performances beginning in October at The Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street). The musical will again star Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole (42nd Street, Dinner at Eight) and Tony Award nominee Mary Louise Wilson (Cabaret, Full Gallop), the rapturously-received leading ladies of the Off-Broadway production.

Based on the legendary 1975 documentary Grey Gardens (by David Maysles, Al Bert Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer & Susan Froemke – a Maysles Brothers Films Inc. Production), the musical features a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, the film Quills – based on his own play), music by Scott Frankel (musical director for Broadway's Falsettos, Putting It Together) and lyrics by Michael Korie (Harvey Milk). Directed by Tony Award nominee and Obie winner Michael Greif (Rent), the musical has musical staging by Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun (Big River, Grease!).

GREY GARDENS concerns both the deliciously eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who were once among the brightest names in the pre-Camelot social register, but became East Hampton's most notorious recluses, living in a dilapidated 28-room mansion. Set in two eras – in 1941 when the estate was in its prime and in 1973 when it was reduced to squalor – the musical tells the alternatively hilarious and heartbreaking story of two indomitable individuals, Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter 'Little' Edie.

Critics have praised GREY GARDENS as "A weird and wonderful, boldly-imaginative musical" (David Rooney, Variety), "A dark and fascinating work with a stylish score that hearkens back to the sound of George Gershwin and Cole Porter" (David Cote, NY-1 News), "Madly enjoyable" (Michael Sommers, Star-Ledger), "First-rate – a beautiful production, beautifully crafted writing and sumptuous performances" (Michael Feingold, Village Voice) and "Lusciously designed and stunningly performed. GREY GARDENS brings great wit and luster to the musical season" (Howard Kissel, Daily News). Praising the show in Time Magazine, Richard Zoglin unknowingly foreshadowed, "GREY GARDENS might have been the best Broadway musical of the season, except that it can't move to Broadway because all the theaters are filled" and Liz Smith wrote, "A trip to GREY GARDENS is worth every step. If it opened on Broadway it would surely be nominated for quite a few Tony Awards!"

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