Anything about Grey Gardens so far? anything at all?

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/10/06 at 11:51pm

I am absolutely dying to hear what anybody has to say about the show. WIth perfs starting tonight, i hope somebody has some comments,reviews soon. thanks.

[QMAN03]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 1:19am

Guess not.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 4:20am

A friend of mine really thinks it's a really ambitious and valuable project...I'm gonna see it soon, 'cause he just can't stop talking about it!

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 9:05am

I think the whole idea is v ery ambitious as well. I saw the documentary recently and thought it was fascinating. I'm just anxious to hear anything at all.

[TheEnchantedHunter]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:49am

Yeah, but does it work?


Natasha Rostova
Moscow, Russia

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 11:55am

I can't wait to hear about this as well, though part of me wonders if the story of the Beals, even set with music, can ever compare watching the real thing - I think the appeal of the film is actually in its startlingly honest psychological portrait of a mother and daugheter who have isolated themselves from the world. Their "lineage" is the icing on the cake, but not what makes the film so fascinating to me.

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 12:25pm

absolutely MB, the lineage is rarely mentioned and thats the way it should be. i honestly can't imagine what it(the show) could be like , and can't wait to find out!.

[Curly3]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 4:09pm

i haven't seen it yet but i do know that jeff calhoun will do a superlative job staging the show. he has a great theatrical sense.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 4:28pm

There are some reviews up on the ALL THAT CHAT message board -

Basically the consensus is that they should scrap ACT 1 entirely and do ACT 2 (the doccumentary material) as a one act musical...

[BBBoy]

Posted: 2/11/06 at 5:14pm

well - not really...

there's one response on All That Chat to that degree...

it seems like there's alot of smoothing out that needs to be done...but I guess that's why they have like a month of previews...

[MissNY]

Posted: 2/13/06 at 9:56am

I'm very interested to see how this will work. Any idea on the run time?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 2/13/06 at 10:45am

Calhoun has a great theatricel sense?
Did u SEE BKLYN???

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/13/06 at 11:16am

There are now several more threads on TalkinBroadway that all say pretty much the same thing - the first act is confusing and not directly related to the second, the overall tone of the musical is unclear and Christine Ebersole is a revelation.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 7:54pm

What's the run time?

[Sister Rose]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:48pm

I caught the matinee today - STUNNING. I have been anticipating this new musical for some time since I knew it would be an opportunity to hear Christine Ebersole sing on the stage again. It is a treat that Christine plays two roles - the mother Edith Bouvier Beale in Act 1 and her daughter Little Edie in Act 2. I knew she would be out of the world and I was right. She is damn funny but can grab you emotionally and has a gorgeous old-style voice. Overall it has a good cast. Although Sara Gettlefinger's voice is good, maybe there is a little miscasting in the first act as she is playing the 20 year old Little Edie - it is very hard to believe that she isn't really 40 years old. John McMaster delivers a funny grandfather Bouvier and the little girls playing Jackie and Lee Bouvier are adorable. The first act is a bit like a 1940s movie musical with a beautiful set and costumes. The songs are stylized and catchy. But it is in the second act that they really get down to the nitty gritty. The mother/daughter co-dependent madness is conveyed hysterically, yet it is the story of the daughter that breaks your heart. Mary Louise Wilson is a riot as the controlling, ailing mother while Christine is over the top as her completely mad daughter who longs to be on her own. It is not clear how long it took them to come to this, but you see that they really have no way out. The theme of being independent is strong throughout both acts. She blames her mother for her plight but cannot break away. The first scene is side-splittingly funny and by the end, the songs bring tears. In the end, they fade out, still together.

Grey Gardens is still in previews and at an after-show talk today, it was evident that the creative team is continuing to make changes. Right now, it feels as if it is two one-act plays...or maybe the first act is just a flashback. It is being advertised as a limited run at Playwrights Horizons. However, this is a show that deserves time to be seen and celebrated. GO SEE IT!

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:19pm

I am seeing it in 2 weeks, and I am very excited. Cannot wait.

[notabb]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 10:10pm

Playwrights Horizon have given this show a wonderful physical production.Every off-Broadway musical should have sets this elaborate ,beautiful costumes and a decent size band.And as someone who loves musicals I'm glad I saw Grey Gardens.It would have been worth it for the sheer joy and pleasure of watching Christine Ebersole sail thru 2 very different roles in the 2 acts.Much of the score is lively and tuneful (though I'd be very happy never to hear "Being Bouvier" again).I've never seen the movie so I have no idea how the musical matches up.My problem with the show is the 2 acts don't quite match up.Sunday In The Park With George had 2 very different acts but they seemed of a piece.Grey Gardens 1st act felt like they had found a long lost Phillip Barry play and set it to music.It was charming and a little too light.It never had that grit that would make the 2nd act seem possible.I would be very happy if they'd cut a lot of the patter about George Strong being gay.It's just tired.But if you love musicals this is one you should check out.The first act has some pretty songs ( "The Five-Fifteen" ,"Drift Away" and "Will You") well done by the cast.ANYTHING Christine Ebersole sings is a treat (just wait for the 2nd act opener).The 2nd act is very funny with knock-out performances by Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson and a very sweet one by Matt Cavenaugh (which makes up for his first act performance which seemed to only be about his accent).I wish I could tell people to rush out and see this but it never seems to add up to very much.But if you love musicals and are happy to see a worthy near miss...take a look

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 2/19/06 at 11:05pm

I was also at the matenee today and I was incredibly disappointed. The first act was light but somewhat cute. I felt that some of the songs in the first few minutes were just lumped in there for the sake of having songs and I agree that "Being Bouvier" was absolutely awful. Although the first act was ok, I was still pretty bored and was really hoping that the second act would be better. I also remembered reading Michael Bennett's post saying that he had heard that it would have been better to have the second act stand alone. The second act started with a fun number performed by Christine Ebersol. That gave me hope, but everything went downhill from there. I thought that the songs were much worse than in the first act (with the exception of one, I think it was called "All Around the World" or something like that.) I also felt that it stood completely separately from the first act since it used projections and a wierd ensemble that almost seemed like a group of hallucinations that kind of popped up once in a while. The act also could not hold my interest at all.

I went into the show hoping that I would like it since I had been looking forward to it since my mother showed me the Playwrights Horizon's mailing on it, and came out wishing that I could get the three hours of my life that I had just wasted back. (The show was a tedious 2 hours and 40 minutes long.)

[notabb]

Posted: 2/21/06 at 6:03pm

bump