(Cincinnati, Ohio) From cult film to cult musical! Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati (ETC) presents the highly-anticipated regional premiere of the Tony Award®-winning and scandalously delicious musical Grey Gardens, which features a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright, author of I Am My Own Wife. Based on the groundbreaking 1975 documentary by David and Albert Maysles, the enigmatic and musically-astounding Grey Gardens, winner of three Tony Awards®, takes us on the alternately hilarious and heart-breaking story of two indomitable women, Edith and Edie Bouvier Beale. Director D. Lynn Meyers has assembled a stellar ensemble cast, including ETC favorites Neva Rae Powers (Souvenir), Dale Hodges (String of Pearls), and Ashley Kate Adams (The Great American Trailer Park Musical).

Based on the real-life story, Grey Gardens brings to life both the delightfully eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Once among the brightest names in the pre-Camelot social register, Edith ("Big Edie") Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith ("Little Edie") Bouvier Beale became East Hampton’s most notorious recluses, living in a dilapidated 28-room mansion alongside dozens of cats and piles of rubbish. Set in two eras—in 1941 when the estate was at its full grandeur and in 1973 after it had been reduced to squalor—Grey Gardens brings to life an undoubtedly unique and memorable tale of fallen American royalty.

"I am thrilled to have such an outstanding ensemble to launch our 2008-2009 season," explains Producing Artistic Director D. Lynn Meyers. "It's amazing to embody a fascinating story about these extraordinary women's lives. It's an intelligent and heartfelt journey between the past and the present. The scenic design is a wonder in and of itself and will be a marvelous palate for these colorful characters to play upon," concludes Meyers.

About the Cast
Neva Rae Powers ("Big Edie,"” 1941; "Little Edie," 1973) returns to ETC, having dazzled Cincinnati audiences with her performance in ETC's regional premiere of Souvenir as Florence Foster Jenkins, a role that she reprised at Vienna's English Theatre last fall and will be performing again for St. Louis Repertory in spring 2009. Ms. Powers graduated from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and has performed in fifty plus roles in regional theatres, off-Broadway shows and the Broadway productions. Her artistic activities abroad included: Bernstein's Mass (Berlin), Jedermann (with Klaus Maria-Brandauer at the Salzburg Festival), Song of Broadway (Vienna's English Theatre), The Bartered Bride (Chamber Opera of Vienna), a recurring role in the Austrian sitcom Der Leihopa, and a guest professorship at the Vienna State Opera Ballet School.

Dale Hodges ("Big Edie," 1973) has appeared in many ETC productions including String of Pearls, Side Man, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Going to St. Ives, Bed Among the Lentils/Underneath the Lintel, Vigil, Copenhagen, and Edward Albee's Seascape. She starred in Wit at both Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Actors Theatre of Louisville. She has appeared in Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park's production of A Christmas Carol for sixteen seasons.

Ashley Kate Adams ("Little Edie," 1941) returns to ETC, having just appeared as Pippi in last season's Great American Trailer Park Musical. Ms. Adams is a Louisville native and currently a Musical Theatre Major at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Recently she was the Rising Future Broadway Artist and guest stared with Glenn Seven Allen at Detroit City Music Hall's National City's Future Stars of Ballet and Broadway.

Charlie Clark (Joe Kennedy/Jerry) also returns to ETC, having just appeared in last season's Frog Princess as Prince Ivan. Mr. Clark also recently appeared in The Charlie Clark Show, a one-man show about a one-man show, which was presented as part of the 2008 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Audiences may also remember him from Know Theatre's See What I Wanna See, The Full Monty (CEA Nomination, Best Actor) and George in Sunday in the Park with George (CEA Nomination, Best Actor), both for NSC.

Scot Wooley (Gould) returns to ETC, having appeared as Cosme McMoon in ETC's regional premiere of Souvenir. Last fall, he also performed the role abroad at Vienna's English Theatre when ETC's production was remounted there. He has created Broadway arrangements for State Fair, starring John Davidson, and Off-Broadway vocal arrangements for Tapestry, the Music of Carole King. Mr. Woolley's ETC credits include The Frog Princess, Ugly Duck, Mack and Mabel, Nite Club Confidential, for which he conducted and played the piano. He also composed the theme for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float in 2004. Mr. Woolley has conducted many shows at the Playhouse in the Park, including Rocky Horror, Candide, Carnival, and performed in the world premiere of Ace.

Greg Hudson (Bouvier/Peale) makes his ETC debut, having performed in CCM's Hot Summer Nights, and at Cincinnati Children's Theatre, New Edgecliff, and the Showboat Majestic. Most recently, Mr. Hudson appeared in NKU's Summer Theatre as Mr. Baker in Come Blow Your Horn. He has also been a freelance director for the Showboat Majestic and currently teaches Communications at Cincinnati State.

Rounding out the cast, Tim Taylor (Brooks Jr. & Sr.) makes his ETC debut in Grey Gardens, and is also a member of ETC's 2008-2009 Acting Intern Company. A recent graduate of Kansas State University, Mr. Taylor was an intern with the New World Theater in Amherst, Massachusetts. Olivia Diehl (Highland Heights Elementary) and Ellen Erhsam (School of Creative and Performing Arts) also make their ETC debut, playing young Lee and Jackie Bouvier Kennedy, respectively.

Ticket Information
Single tickets are now on sale for all 2008-2009 season productions Tickets range from $27 to $38 for adults and vary upon day of the week; $16 for children ages 12 and under; senior/student and Enjoy the Arts discounts available.

The 2008-2009 Season Sponsor is the Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. Additional support provided by the Charles H. Dater Foundation, the Fine Arts Fund, the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, the Merten Company, National Endowment for the Arts, Ohio Arts Council, Procter & Gamble, and the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Foundation. Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati is a City of Cincinnati Arts Grant Recipient.

Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, a professional Equity theatre, is dedicated to the production and development of new works and works new to the region.