How Frankie Grande spends his Sundays
Frankie Grande likes to keep busy, even on Sundays.
“From the moment I wake up, it's go, go, go,” said Mr. Grande, a 41-year-old actor, singer and reality TV personality. This month, he returned to the role of Victor Garber in “Titanique,” an off-Broadway parody musical of the film “Titanic.” He first played the character in a fully staged production in 2022, and is now back for a limited run through February 18.
Mr. Grande, the half-brother of pop superstar Ariana Grande, was born in New York, grew up in Englewood, N.J., and Boca Raton, Fla., and graduated from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania. Now he divides his time between a two-bedroom penthouse apartment in Hell's Kitchen and a house in Beverly Hills, California. He lives with his husband of almost two years, actor and model Hale Grande, 31, and their red toy poodle puppy. Appa.
While Mr. Grande was a relative unknown when he returned to New York City in 2005 — he said he often walked through Times Square with earbuds taking in the scene — he is now a YouTube, Instagram and TikTok personality with over 3.5 million followers on all three accounts.
“There's no way I can wander around now without being recognized every four yards,” he said. “But I like talking to fans.”
HERE COMES THE SUN I don't normally get up before 10 a.m. – my husband is in Los Angeles for work and we've been up all night playing the new game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – but I surprise myself and wake up at 8:45 a.m. . I have a Philips alarm clock that simulates a natural sunrise for 30 minutes, and at the end the birds chirp. It wakes me up like I'm on a farm with animal sounds. It's a very peaceful way to start the day.
BANKS I run to the Starbucks at the bottom of my building – my order is a ventilated oat milk latte with three pumps of toffee nut – or I put on my headphones and prepare breakfast here. I have to drink my coffee with Chobani vegan creamer (it's the best thing that ever happened to the world) and a tub of Siggi's vegan yogurt.
MORNING GLORY While I prepare breakfast, I go to the dining room and look at the world. The apartment has tall windows overlooking three corners of the city: south, west and east. There is light and sun all day long. When I look down Eighth Avenue, I can see all the way to the Statue of Liberty, as well as my dad's house in New Jersey, which is cute.
EAR CANDY There is a playlist on Spotify called “The Daily Drive” that I listen to every morning. It starts with NPR, and then I get a couple of Vox podcasts, then some music, all my most played songs – 'Running Up That Hill' by Kim Petras, 'Got Me Started' by Troye Sivan, 'Geronimo' by Sheppard, “Run Away With Me” by Carly Rae Jepsen.
SWEATING IT OUT I take the subway to a 10:45 or 11 a.m. SoulCycle class near Bryant Park. I'd rather be in a train that's going five miles an hour than in a taxi that's going at zero; that drives me crazy! I have some SoulCycle teachers that I absolutely love – shout out to Dakota, Cameron and Parker – especially the gay ones. I'm a big supporter of gays because they play my music, which motivates me to get through class. I've been going for over 10 years and have probably done about 500 rides.
BRUNCH PLANS I normally meet my family for brunch around noon or 1 p.m 44 & X in Hell's Kitchen – my dad lives in New Jersey with my stepmother and my little brother James – but they were snowed in. So I'm having lunch with my best friends Dominic Crossey and Lauren Strigari instead. I like this place. The dining room is so open and airy with lots of light. I always order the French toast; it's my comfort food.
FIT CHECK Next week I have my first performance in “Titanique”. [Mr. Grande returned on Jan. 13], so I'm heading to the Daryl Roth Theater for a costume fitting at 2 p.m. They're making me a brand new costume, which I'm really excited about – I've worn it for the previous eight months, so it was sad by the time I finished. The show won a Lortel Award for best costume design – and my costume was pretty fantastic! – so I'm looking forward to whatever Victor Garber 2.0 is.
SHIP OF DREAMS Dominic, Lauren and I end up staying for the matinee of “Titanique”. It's one of the funniest and most joyful shows I've ever been a part of. No one who comes to the show leaves without the biggest smile. I was so tired when I left the show a year ago – we had been running for eight months; it's very tiring to start a show from scratch, but I knew I wasn't done with it yet.
MOVIE NIGHT We head back to Times Square, where we catch “The Color Purple” at the 42nd Street AMC. It's so beautiful and the performances are incredible. Danielle Brooks as Sofia and Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery were my favorites. It made me cry.
PRICES SEASON Back at my apartment we order nachos, buffalo cauliflower tacos and queso Yay Mexicana – the largest vegan restaurant ever – and watch the Golden Globes. I try to watch all the nominated films every year. I'm surprised “The Color Purple” doesn't win anything, but I'm thrilled that Christopher Nolan finally won his Globe for “Oppenheimer.” I was blown away by that movie.
EARLY NIGHT Normally I would end my evening with a drag show at 10pm, which means 11am in the drag world. I was planning to see my friend Pixie Aventura at Barracuda lounge in Chelsea, but she's out of town this week, so there's no show. So we put on “Trolls Band Together”; Lauren and I enjoy watching animated films together. Seeing my friend Lance Bass portray the glittering yellow troll with the rainbow hair made me so happy.
A FULL NINE HOURS In an ideal world, I'll be in bed at midnight and asleep by 1am. It takes about an hour from the time I decide I want to go to bed to fall asleep. I have a whole ritual that I go through: I listen to an audiobook — right now it's “Iron Flame” by Rebecca Yarros, the sequel to “Fourth Wing” — and then cuddle in bed with my husband. I put on my blue light blocking glasses when I'm going to watch something on my phone. Then I take my melatonin and then – hopefully – go to sleep. My ideal is about nine hours; that's what my brain needs for maximum functionality. Anything less than seven and I'm useless to the world.