Scott Frankel Will Conduct Grey Gardens July 18
By Kenneth Jones
16 Jul 2007
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Scott Frankel (right) with Grey Gardens' leading lady Christine Ebersole.
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben | It seems like the stuff of backstage movie musicals: The composer of a Broadway show taking the conductor's baton and leading the orchestra and actors of the musical the wrote.
But that's exactly what to expect 8 PM July 18 when Scott Frankel, the 2007 Tony Award-nominated composer of Grey Gardens, leads the show at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
"A composer conducting their own show on Broadway is not only a rare and unusual event, but something that hasn't happened in recent memory," the producer stated. "While enjoying his Broadway debut as a composer with Grey Gardens (with lyricist Michael Korie), Mr. Frankel initially made a name for himself on Broadway as a pianist and conductor. He first waved his arms on a Broadway podium in 1987 as assistant conductor for the original production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and last conducted on Broadway as musical director for William Finn's Falsettos in 1992."
This will mark the first time that Frankel will be conducting a score of his own on Broadway.
"Although it would be impossible for me to do a finer job than our superb musical director Larry Yurman, I'm personally excited about conducting a performance of Grey Gardens," stated the composer. "Since I began my New York career in the orchestra pit, to be conducting my own music on Broadway will not only take me full circle, but will be a total blast!"
It was Frankel's idea to turn the documentary "Grey Gardens" into a musical, and he optioned the rights to the film directly from filmmaker Albert Maysles.
For his work on the show, in addition to a Tony nomination, Frankel got The ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award and The Frederick Loewe Award for Dramatic Composition.
The Broadway production will play its final performance on July 29, 2007, after having played a total of 307 performances and 33 previews.
Producers said they expect the show to surface in London and on tour.
Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson won Tonys for their work playing decaying Long Island socialites in Grey Gardens.
Tickets are available by going online to www.telecharge.com, calling (212) 239-6200 or visiting The Walter Kerr Theatre box office (219 West 48th Street). Balcony seats are only available in person at the box office. For more information visit
www.greygardensthemusical.com.
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