Meet Gracie and Lacy Miller, Charleston’s very own song-and-dance sister act.
Photo by Milton Morris
Gracie & Lacy Miller
AGE: Emily Grace Miller (Gracie), 35; Lacy Miller, 33.
HOME TURF: James Island
CLAIM TO FAME: Best known as the song-and-dance sister act, Gracie & Lacy (gracieandlacy.com).
LACY’S BIG AMBITION: She wants to perform a duet with Josh Groban. She’s even written the song. Your move, Josh.
GRACIE’S FAVORITE PASTTIME: Baking. Anything with chocolate and butter.
WHAT’S NEXT: Publishing a children’s book called Broadway On the Driveway.
It’s not often that children as young as eight and 10 find their calling. But that’s what happened with sisters Gracie (right) and Lacy Miller—St. Louis natives and Charleston transplants—when they launched their Broadway On the Driveway theater series in, where else, the driveway of their parents’ home.
Inspired by a live production of Annie, Gracie and Lacy strung a bed sheet curtain across their driveway, cast more than 15 children under the age of 12, and produced and directed the first of many shows, Lacy says. “When we did Fiddler on the Roof in our driveway, we actually had a fiddler on our roof. It was very authentic.”
As teenagers, they moved their ambitious productions—sometimes with full orchestras—to a performing arts center. The musicals were free to the community, and thousands of people would attend nightly performances. When people started asking the young ladies to perform at corporate events, their song-and-dance sister act was born.
Based in Charleston since 2014, Gracie and Lacy typically perform 50 to 75 shows annually at venues along the East Coast and throughout the Midwest. Their themed performances, complete with tap dancing and vintage costumes, focus on the Great American Songbook, but one of their favorites—Legends—includes modern hits as well. “I like to cover popular music through the decades,” says Lacy.
The well-versed songwriters and composers have made the most of the COVID-19 shutdown by producing a weekly Facebook Live variety show, Today in Charleston with Gracie and Lacy. They perform original songs, interview other artists, visit Charleston landmarks and share recipes with their fans.
“Twenty-five years ago, we got our start in show business performing on our driveway,” says Gracie. “Now it seems we’ve come full circle, as we are now performing shows in front of a glittery backdrop in our living room.”