Josh Groban has recorded at least one of Billy Joel‘s songs, but now, he’ll actually be playing the part of The Piano Man himself in a new original scripted series from Audible.
The series is called The Miranda Obsession, and it’s based on a true story that was documented in a 1999 Vanity Fair article of the same name. The audio-only series stars The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan as Miranda Grosvenor, the alias of a real-life Louisiana woman who charmed many famous men in the ’70s and ’80s, simply by talking to them on the telephone.
Born Whitney Walton, “Miranda” would call stars late at night, and was reportedly so alluring that the men she called would fall in love with her, just by hearing her voice. Among the people with whom Walton had phone relationships were Billy, Eric Clapton, Warren Beatty, Bob Dylan, Richard Gere, Peter Gabriel, Robert De Niro, Ted Kennedy, Johnny Carson and many more.
Billy was reportedly so entranced by Miranda that he considered writing a musical about her. Others bought her expensive gifts, and, according to Vanity Fair, two of her telephone pals — music producers Quincy Jones and Richard Perry — proposed to her. Walton died in 2016 at age 74.
In a statement, Brosnahan says, “I was completely captivated by the story of Miranda and her intimate relationships with some of Hollywood’s most powerful male players. Not only did she hold her own, but she curated a fantasy on the other end of the telephone and drew men into her design with words alone.”
In addition to Brosnahan and Josh, The Miranda Obsession series will feature Milo Ventimiglia as Richard Perry, and will premiere on Audible April 28, 2022.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
