Tennessee Rep to Present GREY GARDENS as Part of REPaloud Series, 1/17-18

Tennessee Repertory Theatre will present its first-ever musical REPaloud staged reading with the Tony-winning Grey Gardens. The REPaloud for Grey Gardens will take place on January 17 - 18 at 7:00 pm at Nashville Children's Theatre (25 Middleton Street).

The incredible story of Jackie Kennedy Onassis's most outrageous relatives, Grey Gardens brings to life her delightfully eccentric aunt and cousin Big Edie and "Little" Edie Beale. 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 much-lauded musical tells the alternately hilarious and heartbreaking story of two indomitable individuals. The musical-with music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie, and book by 2014 Tennessee Rep Ingram New Works Fellow Doug Wright--tracks the progression of the two women's lives from their original status as rich and socially polished aristocrats to their eventual largely isolated existence in a home overrun by cats and cited for repeated health code violations. However, its more central purpose is to untangle the complicated dynamics of their dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship.

The cast features Martha Wilkinson in the same role that garnered Christine Ebersole the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Other cast members include Matthew Carlton, Rona Carter, Rosemary Fossee, Jennifer Richmond, James Rudolph, Charlotte Skaggs, Patrick Waller, and Bobby Wyckoff. For more information on REPaloud, visit tennesseerep.org/repaloud.php.

Since 1985, Tennessee Repertory Theatre has been a critically acclaimed regional theatre, creating the highest quality professional productions and by serving as a prime cultural, educational, and economic resource within the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities. Tennessee Rep produces work that is designed, built, and rehearsed in Nashville by highly skilled actors, designers, directors, and technicians. A non-profit organization, Tennessee Rep is committed to consistently delivering thought-provoking theatre each year. For more information on Tennessee Repertory Theatre, please visit www.tennesseerep.org.

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