When Beth Grimmett Tankersley began taking piano lessons at age 6, she never dreamed her passion would one day pave the way for her to play for a Broadway musical production on the road.
But that’s exactly where she’s found herself.
The Pauls Valley native is currently traveling across North America as a keyboardist with the touring production of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical “Mean Girls.”
“It’s just like the movie ‘Mean Girls’ with really fun music added in. It's a great time. It's a hilarious show, and we’re playing to packed houses pretty much every night,” Beth said.
The show has provided a unique opportunity for Beth, who joined the tour five months ago, to not only expand her career, but also indulge a passion that has always been a part of her.
“Honestly, I keep a picture of myself as a baby ‘playing’ the piano on my music stand, just you know, to remind myself how far I've come. I’ve been obsessed with it since I was born,” Beth said.
“I guess I started playing professionally at the First United Methodist Church in Pauls Valley when I was about 14, you know actually getting paid to do it, and I’ve been an accompanist ever since then.”
After graduating from Pauls Valley High School in 2001, Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, she earned a master’s degree in collaborative piano from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and then moved to Seattle, Washington, where she began working in opera and theater as a rehearsal pianist and pit musician.
And that’s where she was last fall – living in Seattle with her husband and working as a contract musician – when she got a call asking if she would substitute as a keyboard player for the “Mean Girls” show in Portland, Oregon. She took the job and at the end of the run, she was asked if she’d like to join the show full time.
Beth had already committed to another gig in Seattle for the first part of 2022, but the “Mean Girls” touring production said they were willing to hold a spot for her. So, she joined the tour in March.
“It was very, I guess serendipitous, the way it happened. It just worked out perfectly,” Beth said. “I've never toured before and wasn't planning on touring. I have a husband and a home and everything in Seattle. I was kind of settled. But it was just too good of an opportunity for me, and for my career, to pass it up. And I'm so glad I'm doing it because it's just a blast.”
Beth is one of three keyboard players on the tour. Her part is primarily piano-based and serves as the backbone for the show’s musical scores.
“Another keyboard is mostly like string sounds and organ sounds, because we don't travel with the string section. We don't hire a string section. That's all done with a keyboard. And then the conductor also adds in sound effects and things like that (with a third keyboard) as they’re conducting.”
While on tour, Beth has also had the opportunity to try her hand at conducting, filling in as needed.
“I made my conducting debut two weeks ago (in Baltimore), and so I'll be on the podium more as a conductor, which is super fun,” Beth said. “For this show, and for a lot of Broadway shows, the conductor is also playing a keyboard part. So, I kind of conduct and play at the same time, which is wild. It's a lot of conducting with my head or playing with one hand and waving my arm with the other one. It's kind of involved,” she said.
One of the things Beth said she has enjoyed most about the tour is the opportunity to play in such a wide variety of theaters across the country.
“There are some absolutely beautiful old theaters. Just last week we were at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta – incredible space. We were at the Kennedy Center for three weeks, which is just a huge thing for any performer. It's such an iconic venue,” Beth said. “That, and then just being able to make this super cool art every night for packed houses has been the best part of this experience for me. It's been great.”
When asked what the most challenging part of touring for the last five months has been, Beth laughs.
“We travel a lot. We pretty much are in a new city every week. We were in Detroit for a couple weeks. We were in D.C. for three weeks. In October, we’ll be in Toronto for five weeks, which will be nice, to just be in one place. But for the most part, we do eight shows a week. We travel on Monday. We load the whole thing in on Monday and Tuesday, and then we start shows Tuesday night and we go all the way through Sunday,” Beth said. “I've met amazing people, and I'm seeing tons of places, and I'm playing in super cool theaters. I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. But the travel – the travel can be a little taxing, you know. It's just, it's a lot of moving and you just kind of have to be chill and accept that’s what it is.”
Several family members have had the opportunity to come hear her perform on the tour and support her in her work, including her parents, Brent and Mickie Grimmett, who had the opportunity to hear her play at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., as well as at shows in Dallas and Baltimore.
“It’s been a fun travel opportunity for them, but also, I so appreciate them and their support and coming to see ‘Mean Girls’ like a jillion times. I think they probably know it better than I do at this point,” Beth said.
The tour is playing dates in Texas through Aug. 21, appearing in Austin this week, before moving on to San Antonio and then Houston. After that, the production will travel to Wisconsin.
Shows are currently scheduled to continue through May of 2023, and Beth said she anticipates staying on tour with “Mean Girls” for the foreseeable future.
As for whether more touring productions might be in her future, Beth said she’s keeping her options open.
“I think for the right show I would do it again. I had been offered another tour before this … and for me it just wasn't worth leaving my home. But this one was, and now that I've had the opportunity to be a conductor, I think that's going to open a lot of doors for me. So, I'm totally open to that opportunity, you know,” Beth said. “I’m just kind of riding this wave, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Tour dates for the show can be found online at meangirlsonbroadway.com/tour.
