'Grey Gardens: Complete Book & Lyrics' Now Available

The new book, Grey Gardens: The Complete Book and Lyrics, is available now from Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.

Priced at $16.95, the paperback book also features 16 pages of color photographs from the Broadway production of Grey Gardens.

The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Grey Gardens played its final performance on Sunday, July 29, 2007.  The production played a total of 307 performances and 33 previews at The Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street), where it opened on November 2nd, 2006.

Starring 2-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole and Tony Award winner Mary Louise Wilson, the production earned 10 2007 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, and winning three: Christine Ebersole for Best Actress in a Musical, Mary Louise Wilson for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and William Ivey Long for Best Costumes.  

In addition to Ebersole and Wilson, Grey Gardens starred 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 show is based on the legendary documentary by the Maysles Brothers.

The musical featured 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 had musical staging by Tony Award nominee Jeff Calhoun (Big River, Grease!). It was produced by Producers East of Doheny, Randall L. Wreghitt/Mort Swinsky, Michael Alden and Edwin W. Schloss, in association with Playwrights Horizons,

"Not since Mama Rose and Gypsy has there been a mother/daughter act as hilarious, as heartbreaking and as utterly unforgettable as Edith and Edie Beale - Jackie Kennedy's most outrageous relatives - in Broadway's acclaimed musical smash Grey Gardens.  From the grandeur of an East Hampton high society party in 1941 to the sensational tabloid headlines that rocked the Kennedy clan in 1973, Grey Gardens is scandalously entertaining.  This witty and passionate ride features Christine Ebersole's already-legendary performance and breaks new ground as the first musical ever based on a documentary.  Step into the world of Grey Gardens and see the other side of Camelot," state press notes.

The Broadway production of Grey Gardens reunited 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 were 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.

As previously announced, Grey Gardens, the documentary, has inspired an upcoming major movie release starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

Visit www.greygardensthemusical.com for more information.  Visit www.applausepub.com for more information on Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.

Photo of Christine Ebersole by Joan Marcus