/Saratoga

FIRST POST-BROADWAY PRODUCTION

OF TONY AWARD-WINNING

"GREY GARDENS"

August 20-September 14, 2008

MT. VIEW (18 July 2008) - TheatreWorks, the nationally-acclaimed theatre of

Silicon Valley, proudly presents the first post-Broadway production of the

Tony Award-winning and scandalously delicious musical GREY GARDENS. Adapted

for the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright, composer

Scott Frankel, and lyricist Michael Korie, the enigmatic and

musically-astounding GREY GARDENS, winner of three Tony Awards, takes us on

the alternately heart-warming and heart-breaking journey of the eccentric

Edith and Edie Bouvier Beale (aunt and cousin to Jacqueline Kennedy) who

became East Hampton's most notorious recluses. Helmed by acclaimed Bay Area

director Kent Nicholson, TheatreWorks has assembled a stellar cast that

includes New York actors Dale Soules (from the original New York cast of

GREY GARDENS) Beth Glover, Nicholas Galbraith, Elisa Van Duyne, and Michael

Winther, along with Bay Area actors Michael LeRoy Brown, Kathryn Foley,

Carolyn Di Loreto, Isabella Wilcox, and Paul Myrvold. GREY GARDENS plays

August 20-September 14 (press opening: August 23) at TheatreWorks at the

Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets ($26-$64) and

information, the public may call (650) 903-6000 or visit TheatreWorks.org.

Edith ("Big Edie") Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith ("Little

Edie") Bouvier Beale were once the toast of the New York social circle of

the 1940s. GREY GARDENS brings to life a delightfully eccentric tale of

fallen American royalty. Once among the brightest names in the pre-Camelot

social register, the Beales became East Hampton's most notorious recluses.

This alternately hilarious and heartbreaking saga, called "An experience no

passionate theatergoer should miss" by The New York Times, chronicles their

journey from giddy fortune to seclusion. The story was first told in the

1975 documentary "Grey Gardens," which was adapted into this musical by

composer Scott Frankel, and lyricist Michael Korie, with book by Doug

Wright. GREY GARDENS opened off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2006,

and transferred to Broadway later that year. The show ran for 33 previews

and 307 performances, and went on to be nominated for ten Tony Awards in

2007, winning three.

Doug Wright's stage works include I Am My Own Wife (which won him the Tony

Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama), Quills (for which he

received a Golden Globe nomination), and his adaptation for the stage of

Disney's The Little Mermaid. His adaptation of GREY GARDENS won Tony Awards

for actresses Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson for their work as

"Big Edie" and "Little Edie." Composer Scott Frankel worked on Broadway

shows such as the Tony Award-winning INTO THE WOODS and FALSETTOS before he

began collaborating with operatic lyricist Michael Korie to create the music

for several Broadway productions. Their collaborative works include MEET

MISTER FUTURE, DOLL, and GREY GARDENS.

TheatreWorks is happy to welcome Dale Soules, who will play the role of "Big

Edie" Bouvier Beale (Act 2), the part she understudied and went on to play

on Broadway. A veteran of more than 40 years on the New York stage, she made

her Broadway debut in HAIR. Her other Broadway credits include THE CRUCIBLE

and THE MAGIC SHOW, in which she introduced   the Stephen Schwartz songs

"The Lion Tamer" and "West End Avenue." Her Off-Broadway, regional, film and

television credits are extensive.

Joining TheatreWorks in GREY GARDENS as Edith Bouvier Beale (Act 1) and

"Little" Edie Beale (Act 2) is Beth Glover, whose career has spanned film,

television, and stage. She has been featured in several national tours,

including ALL SHOOK UP; DIRTY BLONDE; PROMISES, PROMISES; and ANYTHING GOES,

and even opened for Ray Charles. Some of her off-Broadway work includes the

Drama Desk Award-nominated TAKE ME ALONG, HEARTBREAK, PRIME TIME PROPHET,

and THE FALL.

Also making her TheatreWorks debut is Elisa Van Duyne as the youngest Edie

Beale (Act 1) in GREY GARDENS. Van Duyne's credits include roles on Broadway

in productions of 110 IN THE SHADE, BEAUTY & THE BEAST, and 42ND STREET, in

addition to the off-Broadway New York City premiere of Christopher Durang's

ADRIFT IN MACAO. She has toured nationally and internationally in WHITE

CHRISTMAS, as Betty, and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, as Christine, and with Tommy

Tune in DOCTOR DOLITTLE.

Director Kent Nicholson is Director of New Works for TheatreWorks, where he

most recently helmed Ambition Facing West, Vincent in Brixton, and an

acclaimed revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons.  Other recent directing

credits include the West Coast Premiere of The Good German at Marin Theatre

Company and the World Premiere of We Are Not These Hands at Crowded Fire

Theatre Company, where he acts as the co-Artistic Director. Additional

directing credits include Sacrament! with Dave Eggers at Campo Santo, Five

Flights starring Alice Ripley at the Rattlestick Theatre in New York, the

World Premiere of Kissing the Witch and the American Premiere of Stones in

His Pockets, both for the Magic Theatre, where he served as Associate

Artistic Director. Nicholson has also directed notable productions of Barrio

Hollywood for Borderlands Theatre and Swimming in the Shallows by Adam Bock

(winner of Bay Area Critics Circle Awards for Best Production, Best New

Play, and Best Ensemble) for Shotgun Players, where he also directed David

Mamet's The Water Engine. New play development credits include pieces for

TheatreWorks, Theatre of NOTE (LA), Playwrights Horizons (NY), and The Lark

(NY).

Following GREY GARDENS, the company presents Pulitzer Prize-winner August

Wilson's final play, RADIO GOLF, in October. Off-Broadway sensations Brendan

Milburn and Valerie Vigoda of the rock band GrooveLily bring their latest

musical to TheatreWorks for the holidays (in a co-production with City

Theatre in Pittsburgh), the World Premiere musical LONG STORY SHORT in

December, followed by the Regional Premieres of Tony Award-winning farceur

Ken Ludwig's TWENTIETH CENTURY in January, and the sizzling Broadway hit

musical IT AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT THE BLUES in March. The Regional Premiere of

Lisa Loomer's DISTRACTED closes the season in April.

With nearly 10,000 subscribers and over 100,000 patrons per year,

TheatreWorks has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and

integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at

acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local

and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast from across

the country.