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Opined March 5, 2006
Grey Gardens - Book by Doug Wright; music by Scott Frankel; lyrics by Michael Korie; based on the film "Grey Gardens" by David Maysles, Albert
Maysles, Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer and Susan Froemke. Directed by Michael Greif (Mr. Marmalade); musical staging by Jeff Calhoun; sets by Allen
Moyer (Twelve Angry Men, Reckless) ; costumes by William Ivey Long; lighting by Peter Kaczorowski (Naked Girl on The Appian Way, Twentieth Century,
Wonderful Town, Pajama Game)
WITH: Christine Ebersole (Edith Bouvier Beale in 1941 and "Little" Edie Beale in 1973), Mary Louise Wilson (Edith Bouvier Beale), Matt Cavenaugh
(Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. and Jerry), Sara Gettelfinger ("Little" Edie Beale in 1941), Sarah Hyland (Jacqueline Bouvier), John McMartin (J. V.
"Major" Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale), Michael Potts (Brooks Jr.), Bob Stillman (George Gould Strong) and Audrey Twitchell (Lee Bouvier).
Presented by Playwrights Horizons, Tim Sanford, artistic director; Leslie Marcus, managing director; William Russo, general manager. At Playwrights
Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, Clinton; (212) 279-4200. Through April 23. Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes.
In the lobby of Playwrights Horizons are three display panels explaining who and what this show is about. It means the powers that be believe that you will not be
able to figure out what’s going on unless you have some text to guide you. They are right.
Grey Gardens was the home of the Easthampton Beale family who were cousins of Jackie Bouvier before she became Jackie Kennedy. They started out rich and
popular in the 1940’s and ended up poor and batty by the 1970’s. And, believe me, without the three text panels in the lobby – you wouldn’t have a clue.
In the first act Christine Ebersole plays the mother, Big Edie, and in the second act she plays the grown daughter, Little Edie to Mary Louise Wilson’s portrayal of
Big Edie. The two acts have little else in common. This is an uneven, though ambitious, musical (yes a real musical in that tiny theatre). The performances are all
superb but the story lists from side to side like an untended boat.
This is not a BAD show. And the feeling among the crew and staff of Playwrights is very UP. They are proud of this production, as well they should be.
Technically, it’s an impressive achievement, what with it being a complicated musical complete with an onstage baby grand piano, a very talented cast,
choreography, children, an orchestra and a set change that takes nearly 20 minutes to complete. Everyone has done the best they can – including the writers no
doubt. But they are the weakest link in this chain.
It is drawing a crowd though. First of all it brushes up against the Kennedy mystique – complete with a true-life brief engagement of Little Edie to Joe Kennedy, Jr.
which we all know to be doomed because he died in WWII, and a youthful portrayal of Jacqueline Bouvier.
Second is the performance by Christine Ebersole who goes from an elegant but desperate grand dame to a tormented and disappointed soul stranded in her own
home with an ailing and desperate mother. Her performance is masterful and rich. She plays both roles with a sensitivity that never crosses the line of credulity
even though the characters do. And her singing is pure golden elixir. She doesn’t just sing, she tells a story and actually makes you hear the lyrics, and some of her
moments are nothing short of breathtaking.
When the geese of autumn fly away,
will you? Will you?
and
I look in the mirror and what do I see?
A middle-aged woman inhabiting me.
Please ask Christine Ebersole to make a new CD quick, quick, quick and include some of the songs from this musical. They deserve to be heard, but not at the
expense of an entire evening.
You can order her recent CD at www.christineebersole.com
Best line in the show: “Easthampton is an evil town. They’d arrest you for wearing red shoes on Thursday."
©2006 Tulis McCall