Grey Gardens Marks 100th Show with 2/7 Celebration

The hit Broadway musical Grey Gardens will mark its first 100 Broadway performances with a special onstage celebration following the Wednesday, February 7 matinee at The Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street).  The event also coincides with the one-year anniversary of the musical's first performance during its original run at Playwrights Horizons.

In addition, and in honor of the milestone, East of Doheny, the musical's lead producer, will also be making a series of gift donations to the charitable organizations The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and The Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens.

The special onstage celebration will take place immediately following the matinee's curtain call as a bonus for that day's audience.  It will involve the entire cast, lead by stars Tony Award-winner Christine Ebersole and Tony Award-nominee Mary Louise Wilson, as well as children and representatives from the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens, representatives from the ASPCA and live cats, all onstage.  The event will also include a large custom cake, treats for that day's audience and additional surprises.

The donations are inspired by the true story on which Grey Gardens is based, the tale of Jackie Kennedy relatives Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter "Little" Edie.  Donations to the ASPCA are in reference to the 52 cats that over-populated the ladies' East Hampton mansion, where the musical takes place.  The musical will be donating to the ASPCA 100 cans of cat food, 100 bags of kitty litter, 100 cat toys and 100 tickets to the show for ASPCA volunteers.  

As the musical celebrates nonconformity, donations to the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens stem from one of the real-life Edie's most famous quotes (about the oppressive community where the musical takes place): "They can get you in East Hampton for wearing red shoes on a Thursday."  To that end, Grey Gardens will be donating: 100 pairs of red Converse sneakers, as well as 100 basketballs and 100 jump ropes, in partnership with Modell's of Times Square.

"We're overjoyed to be celebrating our first 100 performances and for audiences to have embraced this wonderful show," said Kelly Gonda, President of East of Doheny, which is the lead producer of the musical.  "In honor of this milestone, the entire Grey Gardens family wanted to give something back.  We're delighted to be working with the ASPCA and the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens to help animals and children, and hope our beloved Edies would be proud of the work being done in their name.  We also look forward to more celebrations as Grey Gardens reaches future milestones."

In addition to Ebersole (42nd Street, Dinner at Eight) and Wilson (Cabaret, Full Gallop), Grey Gardens stars John McMartin, Bob Stillman, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Potts, and Sarah Hyland (all from the Playwrights Horizons production), as well as Broadway newcomer Erin Davie as Young 'Little' Edie Beale, and Kelsey Fowler.

The musical features a book by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife, the play and film Quills), music by Scott Frankel (musical director for Broadway's Falsettos, Putting It Together) and lyrics by Michael Korie (Harvey Milk, Zhivago). Directed by Tony Award nominee and Obie winner Michael Greif (Rent), the production has musical staging by Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun (Big River, Grease!). It will be produced by Producers East of Doheny, Randall L. Wreghitt/Mort Swinsky, Michael Alden and Edwin W. Schloss, in association with Playwrights Horizons,

The show "brings to life both the delightfully eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Once among the brightest names in the pre-Camelot social register, these two women 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 alternately hilarious and heartbreaking story of two indomitable individuals, Edith Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter 'Little' Edie," according to production notes.

The Broadway production of Grey Gardens reunites the original creative and design team, featuring scenic design by Allen Moyer, costume design by five-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award winner Peter Kaczorowski, sound design by Brian Ronan and projections by Wendall K. Harrington. Orchestrations are by Tony Award winner Bruce Coughlin and Music Director is Lawrence Yurman.

Grey Gardens had its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons, opening March 7, 2006 and completely sold out its initial limited engagement as well as three extensions. The musical was named Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical by the Outer Critics Circle Awards and was also the winner of a 2006 Richard Rodgers Production Award, administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It was most recently honored by the theater annual Best Plays as one of the ten best of the 2005-2006 season, and the only musical cited. Leading lady Ebersole also won several awards, including the Obie and the Drama Desk.

For tickets and information, visit www.greygardensthemusical.com. 

Photo of Christine Ebersole by Ben Strothmann