Frankie Grande likes to stay 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 playing Victor Garber in “Titanique,” an Off Broadway parody musical of the movie “Titanic.” He first played the character in a fully staged production in 2022, and is now back for a limited run through Feb. 18.
Mr. Grande, who is the half brother of the 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 splits his time between a two-bedroom penthouse apartment in Hell’s Kitchen and a home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He lives with his husband of almost two years, the actor and model Hale Grande, 31, and their red toy poodle puppy, Appa.
While Mr. Grande was a relative unknown when he moved back to New York City in 2005 — he said he often wandered through Times Square wearing a pair of earbuds, soaking in the scene — he’s now a YouTube, Instagram and TikTok personality with more than 3.5 million followers across all three accounts.
“I definitely can’t wander now without being recognized every four feet,” he said. “But I love talking with fans.”
HERE COMES THE SUN I don’t usually get up before 10 a.m. — my husband is in Los Angeles for work, and we’d been up all night playing the new Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora game — but I surprise myself and wake up at 8:45 a.m. I have a Philips alarm clock that mimics a natural 30-minute sunrise, and at the end it has birds chirping. It wakes me up like I’m on a farm with animal noises. It’s a really peaceful way to start the day.
FUELING UP I make a run to the Starbucks in the bottom of my building — my order is a venti iced oat milk latte with three pumps of toffee nut — or I put my headphones on and make breakfast here. I have to have my coffee with Chobani vegan creamer (it’s the best thing that ever happened to the world) and a container of Siggi’s vegan yogurt.
MORNING GLORY While I’m prepping breakfast, I go down to the dining room and look out on the world. The apartment has high windows that face three corners of the city — south, west and east. There’s light and sun all day long. I can see all the way down to the Statue of Liberty if I look down Eighth Avenue, as well as my dad’s house over in New Jersey, which is adorable.
EAR CANDY On Spotify, there’s a playlist called “The Daily Drive” that I listen to every morning. It starts with NPR, and then I get some 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.
SWEAT IT OUT I take the subway to a 10:45 a.m. or 11 a.m. SoulCycle class near Bryant Park. I would rather be on a train going three miles per hour than in a cab going zero; that drives me nuts! I have some SoulCycle teachers that I absolutely love — shout out to Dakota, Cameron and Parker — mostly the gays. I’m a big supporter of the gays because they play my music, which motivates me to get through the class. I’ve been going for more than 10 years and have probably done about 500 rides.
BRUNCH PLANS I normally meet my family for brunch around noon or 1 p.m. at 44 & X in Hell’s Kitchen — my father lives in New Jersey with my stepmother and my little brother, James — but they were snowed in. So I grab lunch with my best friends Dominic Crossey and Lauren Strigari instead. I love 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 I have my first performance back in “Titanique” next week [Mr. Grande returned on Jan. 13], so I head to the Daryl Roth Theater for a costume fitting at 2 p.m. They’re making me a brand-new costume, which I’m very excited about — I wore the previous one for eight months, so it was sad by the time I was done. 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 “Titanique” matinee. 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 fatigued when I left the show a year ago — we had been running for eight months; it’s very grueling to start a show from scratch — but I knew I wasn’t done with it.
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.
AWARDS SEASON Back at my apartment, we order nachos, buffalo cauliflower tacos and queso from Jajaja Mexicana — the greatest vegan restaurant ever — and watch the Golden Globes. I try to watch all the nominated films each 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 film.
EARLY NIGHT Normally, I would end my night with a drag show at 10 p.m., which means 11 in the drag world. I’d been 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 love watching animated movies together. Seeing my friend Lance Bass portray the glittery yellow troll with the rainbow hair made me so happy.
A FULL NINE HOURS In an ideal world, I’m in bed by midnight and asleep by 1 a.m. It takes me about an hour from the time I decide I want to go to bed to fall asleep. I have a whole ritual I go through: I’ll 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 blocker glasses if I’m going to be watching something on my phone. Then I take my melatonin and then — hopefully — zip off to sleep. My ideal is around nine hours; that’s what my brain requires for maximum function. Anything less than seven, and I’m useless to the world.