Review-Grey Gardens (6.30.07)

Grey Gardens (Saturday, 6.30.07)
Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY

By: Doug Wright (book), Scott Frankel (music), Michael Korie (lyrics), Michael Greif (direction), Jeff Calhoun (musical staging), Allen Moyer (scenic design), William Ivey Long (costumes), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting), Brian Ronan (sound), Bruce Coughlin (orchestrations)

Starring: Christine Ebersole (“Little” Edie Boulet/Edith Bouvier Beale), Mary Louise Wilson (Edith Bouvier Beale), John McMartin (J.V. “Major Bouvier/Norman Vincent Peale), Matt Cavenaugh (Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr./Jerry), Erine Davie (Young “Little” Edit Beale), Kelsey Fowler (Lee Bouvier), Sarah Hyland (Jacqueline Bouvier), Bob Stillman (George Gould Strong), Michael W. Howell (s/b, Brooks, Sr., Brooks, Jr.)

The Maisley documentary about Grey Gardens is fascinating. The knowledge that you are watching real people in a documentary (as opposed to actors playing a part) goes a long way to indulging one's morbid sense of curiosity. Watching it leads to all sorts of questions -- are these people putting on an act? How is is that these ladies got to this point?

Watching the second act of Grey Gardens brings back much of the impression that one gets watching the film, probably because of Christine Ebersole's dead-on impressions of Little Edie. Ebersole has every mannerism, every croon, every uttered word just right. And, of course, she has that glorious vocal instrument through which she delivers the songs, one or two actually quite pretty. Although the effect of the second act is not quite the same as the film because of our consciousness that this is acting rather than actual persons, Ebersole's performance goes a long, long way.

Unfortunately, before we get there, we have to sit through the first act, which one supposes is the creators' attempt to set a background and set-up for the bizarreness that is act two. And here is where Grey Gardens falters. For Act I of Grey Gardens, in stark contrast to Act II, came across to me as being quaint -- pretty in some respects, but in most a bit staid and even uninspiring. Notwithstanding Ms. Ebersole's luminous presence as Big Edie and a script that has significantly more action than in Act II, there is something sorely missing. Although the very opening scene started promisingly (the transition from the opening scene in the 1970s quickly transporting you decades before is stunning), the story that is then told is falls flat. It doesn't help that the very period music is banal, and while the actors attack the material with gusto, I never really felt invested in the characters. Erin Davie is, to be sure, an improvement over Sara Gettelfinger (who starred at Playwright Horizons) as Young Edie, but she never really convinced me. And the thought that this creature would grow to up become Christine Ebersole in Act II? Absolutely unimaginable.

The other problem is that the first act is told in regular exposition (third-person), where the much more compelling second act is in first-person. This juxtaposition of altered perspectives is jarring, and contributes to a feeling of disconnect between the two acts. Perhaps this is why the second act works so much better -- Ebersole is able to spend her time talking directly to the audience, and she is marvelous at this interaction.

Ebersole is, on all fronts, absolutely terrific. She is utterly gorgeous as the elder Edith in the first act, and fascinating as Young Edie in the second act. Her performance is a tour-de-force and the sole reason to see this production. It is difficult to imagine this show without her. The remainder of the show's cast is also quite good. Mary Louise Wilson turns in a nice performance as well, croaking out such oddities as “Jerry Likes My Corn.” She's a nice counterbalance to Little Edie. John McMartin is excellent, providing both humor and drama in his interchanges with Edie, while Bob Stillman sings absolutely beautifully. And Matt Cavenaugh lends some nice moments as Patrick Kennedy and as Jerry, Big Edie's unlikely friend, although his accent is absolutely grating.

All that said, the inclusion of several excellent elements (acting and design) is simply not enough to overcome what I suppose are flaws in the show's book, or perhaps just in its overall structure. In the end, for me, this show is about Ebersole, and that is what I'll remember about the show -- her astonishing performance which deservedly garnered every theatre award imaginable.

Review-Grey Gardens (4.25.06)

Grey Gardens (4.25.06)
Playwrights Horizons (off-Broadway)

There are few actresses that can command a stage quite like Christine Ebersole. She has tremendous stage presence, and a great ability to captivate whether she is singing or speaking. In Grey Gardens, she has truly found a role worthy of her tremendous talent. Respectively playing the younger and older versions of Edith Bouvier Beale and Edith's daughter “Little” Edie, Ebersole is alternately rip-roaringly funny, dramatic, and touching. Her performance is a true tour de force, and were she on Broadway this season, she’d surely be the frontrunner for the Best Actress Tony.

Grey Gardens is, in fact, a rather entertaining little musical, complete with an original score and a well-written book by Doug Wright. It tells the story of “Little” Edie Beale, the cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier. Little Edie was once almost engaged to Patrick Kennedy, Jr. and lived her early life at the pinnacle of Long Island society. Years later she moved back to Grey Gardens to live with and care for her mother. In the 1970s, the press discovered the two of them there, practically living in squalor, when the two were threatened with eviction by the local government. The connection to Jackie Kennedy led to newspaper headlines. In 1975, the Maysley Brothers released their documentary about the two.

It is in the second act that Ebersole’s starring turn really drives the show, as she displays either dementia or simply the result of years of being battered down by her oppressive mother. Mary Louise Wilson is also excellent, delivering an excellent supporting performance as the elderly Edith Bouvier Beale. Between the two of them, there is a scarcely a moment in the compelling second act where you can take your eyes off the proceedings. (Much of the dialogue apparently comes directly from the documentary.)

The main weakness is that, unfortunately, the first act does not match up to the second. While a necessary prologue to the second act, the first is simply not as interesting or entertaining. Ebersole delivers some fine moments as the elder Beale during the first-act set-up, but Sara Gettelfinger just can’t capture the emotional unsteadiness that leads to the second act revelation. It may not be her fault -- the material just doesn’t provide the insight into her character that translates to the second act.

The show feels small and quaint, quite appropriate for off-Broadway show. Frankly I have trouble imagining it as viable in a broader commercial setting. This is not so much a fault as a warning to the investors who plan to bring the show to Broadway. They might be better off financing an extended off-Broadway run. In that incarnation, this delightful show could live on without being overwhelmed by the commercialism of Broadway.