GETTELFINGER REPLACED BY DAVIE IN GG, WHY?

[Body Beautiful Beale]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 8:13pm

Does anyone know why Sara Gettelfinger didn't make the transfer from Playwrights Horizons to Broadway with "Grey Gardens?"

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 8:14pm

I recall it being mentioned that they decided to go in a different direction with the role.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 8:15pm

I don't want to be snobby, but do we NEED another one of these? There have been numerous threads soley based on this subject, not to mention every third Grey Gardens thread brings up this subject.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 8:38pm

Gettelfinger looked nothing like Ebersole and, in her performance, did not hint whatsoever at the person Edie would become later on in her life (and in the second act of the show.)

That's it, plain and simple.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 8:53pm

Like somethingwicked said, most critics (and audience members) noted that one of the problems with Act I was Gettelfinger's inability to portray any of Little Edie's quirks and characteristics that would late make her an icon. I heard from just about everyone that saw the show on Broadway that Gettelfinger and Ebersole were pretty much playing two different characters that had nothing to do with each other.
I thought Davie gave a spectacular performance on Broadway.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 8:56pm

her performance, did not hint whatsoever at the person Edie would become later on in her life

I felt that way about Davie as well, which was one of the main reasons why Grey Gardens does not work in my opinion.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 9:09pm

I agree with TheActr97J. While Davie does have many mannerisms that foreshadow what is going to happen to Little Edie (like her constantly touching her hair), nothing that Davie does foreshadows to what is going to happen to Little Edie in mentally and psychologically in Act Two. I think that if Davie added something to help the audience make the transition a little smoother it would really make the show a lot better and easier to relate to and watch.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 9:11pm

I highly disagree-though I respect both of your opinions. I think that by the end of "Daddy's Girl," it becomes very clear that something will happen with Little Edie. The desperation that consumes Davie, her inability to let go of Joe and what Joe represents, the way she is so attached to the image of her father whom she knows does not love her, and her apparent hatred/envy towards her mother all set the path for Ebersole's Little Edie in Act II.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 9:15pm

Ray- I also respect your opinion. but let my ask you this. You just bought a ticket to Grey Gardens and have never seen or heard anything about the show before. While watching Act One would you have ANY idea what was going to happen to Little Edie, and when the Act Two began wouldn't you be totally shocked?

[wickedfan]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 9:19pm

I was when I saw it at Playwrights, but that's because Gettlefinger did NOTHING with that song.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 9:19pm

Tap, anything that I say would be mere speculation since I was familiar with both the documentary and the score of the show by the time I saw the show in February.
I think that by the end of Act I, I would know something is up with Little Edie and when Act II opens I really don't think I would be so surprised that this is what became of her. However, a lot of what makes the lives of the Beales so interesting is that no one really knows how they got to be that way. I think Davie does a great job in setting the path for the character in Act II, better than Gettelfinger sounds on record.

[Smartful Dodger]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 9:22pm

I'm with WickedFan. We need another one of these threads?

Seriously, please consult the search feature and enjoy months and months and months of discussion on this.

Gettelfinger has her fans. Davie has hers.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 9:36pm

Ray- Maybe it is just me, but I don't think I would have suspected anything. I would have expected ACT TWO to pick up with the aftermath of Edie not going to the party. But I do see your point and it is a very valid one.

[LostLeander]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 10:01pm

I think Davie's quirks brilliantly foreshadowed what was to become of Little Edie. I didn't see Gettlefinger, but on the recording she sounds NOTHING like Ebersole. Neither does Davie, really, but she's in the right direction.

I don't necessarily see the transformation from poised, buxom Edith of Act I, to crazed old catlady of Act II, but for some reason, that forshadowing is not as essential to Edie's.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 10:20pm

Well let's remember that the events that made Edie into the person she ended up becoming very well could have been more so what happened after she left Grey Gardens (what we don't see) than just her breakup with Joe.

The actress playing Little Edie just has to hint and make believable the extreme eccentricity that develops in the second act, not necessarily directly point toward it (which would be betraying the honesty on stage.)

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 10:21pm

I think Davie does a spectacular job of capturing the quirks of Little Edie. However, the transition between Act One and Two is so jolting, I think it'd be impossible not to be surprised at the outcome - I think it's really difficult to foreshadow exactly how crazy she goes - it's shocking no matter what, being that it's so over the top and unordinary. Davie does such amazing work in 'Daddy's Girl', you can really see her starting to descend into some sort of madness. I didn't see Gettlefinger, so I can't comment on her performance. Just wanted to chime in on Davie.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 10:41pm

"While watching Act One would you have ANY idea what was going to happen to Little Edie, and when the Act Two began wouldn't you be totally shocked? "

I think that's the point. Erin is sublime in the role.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 11:14pm

I am obviously a huge fan of Erin's, but I can honestly say that the first time I saw the show I saw the subtle transformation of Act 1 Little Edie and how she became Act 2 Edie. And I had never seen the documentary or heard any of the music. Erin is perfect in the role. Every last gesture she does has some meaning.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 11:49pm

I guess I am the only one who believes that Davie's vocals towards the end of the show--as madness begins to unravel become incredibly similar to Ebersole's during "The Revolutionary Costume for Today." To me, she captured the same style of singing that Ebersole employs in Act II.
I don't think Gettelfinger (whom by the way I love as a performer) was able to capture the nuances of "Daddy's Girl" while Davie made it into the perfect prelude to Act II.

[Kringas]

Posted: 5/27/07 at 11:59pm

While watching Act One would you have ANY idea what was going to happen to Little Edie, and when the Act Two began wouldn't you be totally shocked?

Well, only if you missed the first two minutes, because they totally tell you what's going to happen to them in Act Two.

[BillFinn]

Posted: 5/28/07 at 12:01am

I've seen Grey Gardens twice and I can tell you, based on Act I, I still have no clue how they get from point A to point B. Erin Davie just showed Little Edie as a drama queen. I didn't see any madness whatsoever.

Is this an acting problem?

Nope. The two of them didn't seem crazy in Act I at all. They seemed your cliche' Mama Rose/Louise schtick. And in Act II, Little Edie was crazy (except when she sung-- you notice she's sane), but Big Edie seemed like a cranky old lady.

The show had a lot of confusing through lines. Joe Kennedy had no problems having premarital sex with Edie, but ends an engagement with her over something she did when she was 7 years old? And as a potential politician, wouldn't he favor a woman who can turn scandal into publicity? A free-thinking, independent woman? It's very conflicting.

Updated On: 5/28/07 at 12:01 AM

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 5/28/07 at 12:03am

They do and they don't. They tell you they live in a dump, and they tell you what is in the dump. They don't tell you what happens to the characters.

[LostLeander]

Posted: 5/28/07 at 12:06am

"Joe Kennedy had no problems having premarital sex with Edie, but ends an engagement with her over something she did when she was 7 years old? And as a potential politician, wouldn't he favor a woman who can turn scandal into pulicity? A free-thinking, independent woman? It's very conflicting."

Absolutely not. Women were trophies to men like the Kennedy's. They just had to be quiet, pretty, and non-threatening or controversial in any way.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 5/28/07 at 12:28am

Also, she isn't 7 years old. At least, I don't think she is.

Also, as Lost said, scandal was something a Kennedy did NOT want before any of them were married.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/28/07 at 12:36am

I liked Gettlfinger much better,
and found her more eccentric

Anyone know what she is doing now?
Updated On: 5/28/07 at 12:36 AM