Grey Gardens Stars to Take Part in May 10 CD Signing

In celebration of the recent release of the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the hit Broadway musical Grey Gardens on PS Classics, Times Square Virgin Megastore will present a special in-store event on Thursday, May 10 starting at 5:30 PM.  Featuring the entire Broadway cast – including the musical's acclaimed stars Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole and Tony Award nominee Mary Louise Wilson – the event will include musical performances and a CD signing with all nine cast members.  The appearance will last until 6:45 PM, prior to that evening's performance.

Times Square Virgin Megastore is located at 1540 Broadway between 45th and 46th Streets.

At the signing, cast members will autograph Grey Gardens CDs only.  Those attending the event may bring copies of the CD they've already purchased, or they can purchase them on site.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Grey Gardens was released March 27 on PS Classics.  Recorded February 13, the album is produced by multiple Grammy winner Steven Epstein (The Light in the Piazza).  In a unique development, the Original Broadway Cast Recording replaces the previously-available World Premiere Recording, which was also released by the Grammy-nominated label.  That recording featured the Off-Broadway cast, based on the musical's original run last year at Playwrights Horizons. 

The new recording features the Broadway cast and preserves the significant changes made for the Broadway production by author Doug Wright, composer Scott Frankel and lyricist Michael Korie.  This includes four new songs ("The Girl Who Has Everything," "Goin' Places," "Marry Well" and the new ending), one previously unrecorded track ("The Telegram") and all-new performances on several previously-recorded songs (including "Mother, Darling," "Peas in a Pod" and "Daddy's Girl").  In addition, the entire album has been completely remixed and remastered.  The new recording also features an all-new, 32-page color booklet with complete lyrics and new photos.  Once supplies of the old recording have run out, it will go out of print.

In addition to stars Christine Ebersole (42nd Street, Dinner at Eight) and Mary Louise 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.

The initial release will be offered exclusively online at www.psclassics.com. Visit www.greygardensthemusical.com for more information.

Photo of Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens by Joan Marcus