I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
I'm sure that Christine will be devastated to know that you were not favorably disposed to her performance. She will simply have to console herself with every award known to man, every accolade in Christendom, audience adoration and critical hosannas..... Are you serious? The original poster is just stating his opinion. He is not asking for a refund or saying he didn't enjoy the show. I think some of the people on this board need to get over the fact that Christine Ebersole is not the best thing to have happened to Broadway. She gives a fantastic performance at the Walter Kerr and deserved her Tony (even if I'd have voted for Murphy's characterization of Lenya), but some people are allowed not to think she's the Queen of Broadway or whatever. I feel lucky to have watched her performance and she gave it her all the night I saw her but I was equally impressed with Mary-Louise Wilson and Erin Davie. And by the way, if Ebersole's performance at the moment is anything like her Tony performance I can see why people are complaining.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Thanks BrianIdol for starting this thread. For months now it's been practically illegal to have anything negative to say about Ebersole's performance. When I dared to say I wasn't impressed, I was told that I must not have 'gotten' it or that it just went over my head. I am an intelligent, informed theatergoer who has seen, enjoyed, and definitely understood the film version of Grey Gardens. I went into the musical with very high hopes and wanted desperately to be blown away, and to say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. I thought the first act was laughable and the second act, though better, was not nearly as powerful as the movie itself was. Wilson was good, Cavenaugh was good, Davie was O.K., and Ebersole looked like she would have rather been getting a root canal than giving that performance, and this was several months before the Tonys. Few critics praised the show beyond the performances, it has never caught fire at the box office, and it's closing deep in the red. Everyone has a right to love the show and Ebersole in it, but get over yourself if you scan these boards daily only to say nasty things to or about people who dared to not fall to their knees and shout Hosannas at the piece.
guys that isn't what this thread is about. If you want to talk about vaginas and grammar private message eachother don't waste this thread's space huh?
I'm not moderating anything. But wouldn't it piss you off if someone used a thread you made for a serious mature discussion as an excuse to insult eachother?
Dollypop teaches English and as an English major myself I understand him. No need to go insulting anyone's vagina around here, please.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
"Zac is sweet as can be. He's very much just a sweet kid from California who happens to have a face that looks like it was drawn by Michelangelo, (if Michelangelo did anime)." -Adam Shankman.
"I haven't left this building since Windows 3.1!"
"Celebrating a birthday this week: Rene Descartes is 412! Do you know who he is? Then why are you watching this show? You could probably get into college and even get one of those job things. As for the rest of us; Amanda Bynes is 22! Yay!" -E!'s "The Soup"
That can happen.....the hype and the expectation level is so high, that when you see a show, it doesn't meet your expectations.
Maybe, you saw an "off night." It's possible...anything is possible. I've seen Christine E in many shows throughout the years and she's always been fantastic.
Same thing happened to me when I saw "Wicked." I saw it right after it opened with the original cast. Didn't "get it." Then I saw it last year in Chicago, so I could have another chance. Still didn't care for it.
Actually, I thought Christine was the weak link in the recent revival of Steel Magnolias also. I did think she was hysterical on Will and Grace though.
This post wasn't meant to offend any fan of hers, but if you saw the performance I saw of GG and still think she's God, then you're only lying ot yourself. And yes, i'm sure she is tired and it's been a long run - but if you really dont' feel well enough to give me a performance worth $110, then PLEASE let you're understudy do it.
And ps. there's nothing wrong with my spelling, sorry if i dont' give a **** about proof-reading my posts. I have a life.
I saw it twice - once in the fall, and once in the winter. And the second time I went to give her a second chance, because I didin't see anything that everyone was screaming about here. Yes, it's a wonderful performance. Yes, it's a dead-on impression of a person in a documentary she watched over and over. But "legendary"? Only if you haven't seen much else over the past 20-30-40-50 years of theater.
She doesn't live up to the hype, in my opinion. Even the media and critics got caught up in it. She benefited greatly from that. But the fact is, she had the great advantage of playing a role that has already been seen by many theater people who are obsessed with the doc, and the fact that she looks so much like Edie and is able to mimic her is really the key here. Her singing is fine - never impressed me that much except during that aria when she's walking up the stairs. The rest of the time - both times - she sounded like someone who worked very hard to find her singing voice over the years, and is still working very hard at it. It's lovely, but not effortless.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
"Nick Plasia" is affiliated with the production. His opinion is not unbiased.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
I saw Grey Gardens in Decemeber, and I was blown away by Wilson and Davie, and I thought Ebersole was doing a great job. I guess the hype really overshadowed the show for me. I had heard she was out at the matinee, so I knew she was vocally tired, I guess. So, I could tell she was being terribly careful with her voice, which was fine, at the time.
I saw it again a couple of weeks ago, and I thought she was completely phoning in the peformance.
I understand the role is tiring, but she was giving 60% onstage, I guess for the sake of preserving her chords, which is understandable, but when I see a Broadway show, I don't want to have to make excuses for the performer. She would've worked out a no matinee performance deal.
And to say that she's "far and away" the hardest working actor on Broadway right now is absurd.
Audra McDonald is pouring out her SOUL on the Studio 54 stage, with less "showy" material, and without Mary Louise Wilson.
Both times I saw Grey Gardens, Wilson was the best thing on that stage.
I will not even bring "Tony" into this, and this is all SO subjective, I know, but this is just my opinion.
This post lacks coherence, I know. Forgive me, it was a long night.