Grey Gardens at Alex Theatre

Musical Theatre Guild’s 2022 -- 2023 Season Concludes With Tony Award-winning GREY GARDENS

Musical Theatre Guild’s final production for the 2022 -2023 Season – and MTG’s final show at the Alex Theatre after 20 seasons - is GREY GARDENS, a musical as haunting and strange as the two women at its center. This one-night-only event will take place on Monday, February 27th, 7:30 PM, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA.  

GREY GARDENS, The Musical, is inspired by the Maysles Brothers’ famous documentary of the same name.  It focuses on “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Bouvier, members of high society’s Bouvier Family, which includes the future Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The Bouviers, once polished members of high society, now live in squalor on the grounds of their crumbling East Hampton mansion, Grey Gardens, among dozens of cats and a few rabid raccoons.

Not content to simply musicalize the film, Pulitzer prize-winning librettist Doug Wright creates a speculative backstory set in the family’s heyday of wealth and privilege. The score by Composer Scott Frankel and Lyricist Michael Korie provides melodic songs in the style of the 1940’s, showcasing the Bouviers at the pinnacle of their success, as well as a second act turn toward more character-driven and intimate material. This combination gives context to the ladies’ life choices and offers them a humanity the unblinking camera lens does not.

GREY GARDENS was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three. The New York Times said, “To listen to GREY GARDENS is to bring to mind two phrases seldom linked nowadays: 'Broadway musical’ and 'artistic integrity.' The songs, with music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie, sustain a level of refined language and psychological detail as elevated as Stephen Sondheim’s. The score is a meticulously fashioned piece of musical theater that gains in depth the more you listen to it.” And Rolling Stone said, “Can a musical be hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time? GREY GARDENS can! Here’s that shot in the arm for theater lovers who’ve been longing for something bold, haunting, and hypnotic to get lost in… Doug Wright’s book is nuanced and compassionate…the original score by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie has the power to live in your head long after you leave the theater… GREY GARDENS is more than a unique and unmissable musical: It’s a gift.”

Leading the artistic staff of GREY GARDENS is Director Kirsten Chandler, veteran Director of many Musical Theatre Guild shows, including SUGAR, CHESS, and LITTLE WOMEN. Chandler will be teamed with Musical Director Anthony Zediker. Julie Garnye serves as the show’s Production Coordinator. 

Starring in GREY GARDENS are MTG members Eileen Barnett (“Big” Edith Bouvier Beale), Trisha Rapier (Edith Bouvier Beale/”Little” Edie Beale), Zachary Ford (Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr./Jerry), Tal Fox (Young “Little” Edie Beale), Robert Yacko (J.V. “Major” Bouvier/Norman Vincent Peale), and Glenn Rosenblum (George Gould Strong). Joining them are Guest Artists Phillip Brandon (Brooks Sr./Jr.) and Sophie Petersen (Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier). 

With glorious and challenging melodies, relentlessly human characters, and a narrative that reveals a lesser-known side of one of America’s most famous families, GREY GARDENS is the ideal show to utilize Musical Theatre Guild’s array of talented performers. It all comes together on one night only:  Monday, February 27th. Be part of the celebration of concluding 20 years at the Alex Theatre with Musical Theatre Guild’s GREY GARDENS!

GREY GARDENS performs on Monday, February 27th, 2022, at 7:30PM. The performance takes place at the Alex Theatre, 216 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA. Tickets on sale now for $49 per person (plus $4.00 facility fee per ticket/per show) for Orchestra seating and $45 per person (plus $4.00 facility fee per ticket/per show) for Terrace seating. Tickets can be purchased online at www.musicaltheatreguild.com. GREY GARDENS will feature ASL access for Deaf and Hard-of-hearing patrons; contact the box office at 818-660-5340 for dedicated ASL seating. Student rush and Actor’s Equity member discounts available at the box office on show day with appropriate ID.

Your ticket purchase and donation helps Musical Theatre Guild to continue producing the rarely seen Broadway works you love to see year after year.

Musical Theatre Guild is 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership company of theatre professionals, devoted to preserving the unique American art form of musical theatre by presenting seldom-seen musicals in a staged reading concert format. MTG’s Youth Outreach Program takes specially-prepared live performances into Southern California schools, brings hundreds of local high school students to live theatre performances and offers mentorships to theatre students who shadow our professionals behind the scenes of mainstage productions. All Musical Theatre Guild mainstage productions are signed for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.