Soules, Glover, Van Duyne, Galbraith and Winther Set for Grey Gardens at TheatreWorks

By Adam Hetrick
25 Jul 2008

Beth Glover
Beth Glover

Dale Soules, a veteran of Broadway's Grey Gardens, will portray the Beale family matriarch in the West Coast premiere of the Tony-nominated musical at TheatreWorks.

Soules, who performed the role of Big Edith Bouvier Beale during Tony winner Mary Louise Wilson's absence from Grey Gardens on Broadway, will portray the elder Beale in the second act of the musical for TheatreWorks.

Appearing opposite Soules will be Beth Glover (Take Me Along) as Big Edie for the 1941-set first act and as the iconic Little Edie, in the musical's 1973-set second act.

The ladies will be joined by Elisa Van Duyne (110 in the Shade) as the 1941 version of Little Edie. Also set to appear are Nicholas Galbraith as Joe Kennedy/Jerry, Michael Winther (Songs from an Unmade Bed), Michael LeRoy Brown, Kathryn Foley, Carolyn Di Loreto, Isabella Wilcox and Paul Myrvold.

TheatreWorks director of new works Kent Nicholson will stage Grey Gardens, which runs Aug. 20-Sept. 14 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. The musical officially opens Aug. 23.

Press notes for the TheatreWorks run read: "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."

Composer Scott Frankel, lyricist Michael Korie and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife) adapted Albert and David Maysles' 1975 documentary for the musical stage. Grey Gardens first premiered at Playwrights Horizons in 2006 and subsequently transferred to Broadway where it ran for 307 performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Grey Gardens earned a Tony nomination for Best Musical and garnered Tony Awards for leads Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson, as well as for costume designer William Ivey Long.

For tickets phone (650) 903-6000 or visit theatreworks.org.

TheatreWorks Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts is located at 500 Castro Street (at Mercy) in Mountain View, CA.