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#26

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/11/15 at 10:17pm

Like Comden Green I know the off-Broadway versions (though my bootleg DVD has "Marry Well" instead of "Being Bouvier") and so prefer them.

I wouldn't miss "Body Beautiful Beale" (the most awkward sobriquet ever created) if it were cut.

I have mixed feelings about "Marry Well". It's almost too "on the nose", yet sounds more like an actual grandfather talking to little girls. A lot of the aspects of "Being Bouvier" strike me as what the girls would sense over time rather than what they would be told in one sitting.

And I realize that I am right on the cusp of those for whom the Bouvier name still has meaning.

Updated On: 4/11/15 at 10:17 PM

#27

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/12/15 at 2:53am

I think "Marry Well" makes more sense in the scene, but I appreciated "Being Bouvier" more because it gave me the idea that I only abstractly knew about what being in that sort of upper crust American aristocratic family entailed.

"Body Beautiful Beale" is a song I like but I agree with why it was cut. Like it really served no purpose that a non-musical short sentence would have established and it was just there to name-drop other famous families at the time. I know Sara Gettelfinger wasn't a popular choice to play Little Edie on the board, but I thought her body type fit the "Body Beautiful Beale" nickname than Erin Davie did even if most thought she was a superior Little Edie overall.

#28

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/20/17 at 2:35pm

If you want to live like Little Edie and Big Edie, you can buy Grey Gardens.

Just watch it where you step with the cat!

#29

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/20/17 at 2:45pm

I loved it. Saw it twice in New York, and just recently here in LA with Rachel York & Betty Buckley.

Christine Ebersole was magnificent.

#30

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/20/17 at 2:47pm

I only saw it off-Broadway (and have the off-Broadway CD). I could not love it more.

#31

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/20/17 at 2:58pm

I saw it in Los Angeles last summer with York and Buckley, and I recall having a less-charitable view of the overall show at the time. It's aged well in my mind, as it's one of those unique musicals that sticks with you.

I was not a fan of the first act, at least in LA, and it never really felt connected with the second act. I will have to look up Ebersole's original version, to see if it was handled more effectively. But the second act is brilliant.

#32

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/20/17 at 8:49pm

I like the show a lot- It's a fantastic, heartbreaking story and quite an admirable piece of work. Yes, the score does have songs that are integral to the show, but not tracks that I would personally listen to all the time, but it's a brilliant piece of work.

Kristin Chenoweth as Big Edie/Little Eddie 2020 anybody?

#33

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/21/17 at 1:45am

I have to admit that I, too, felt disappointment with the LA production. Didn't hate it, certainly, and Rachel York and Betty Buckley were--well, we all know who they are and how talented. I even realized I like FAR FROM HEAVEN better, which I know is heresy.

This particular writing team tends to favor theme over action, which leaves one with 2+ hours of characters who do little to nothing. That doesn't always matter when the "nothing" is so brilliant, but it's as if they inherited the "comment song" from Sondheim without realizing how Sondheim keeps his scores moving forward, however slowly.

#34

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/21/17 at 1:58am

I was so excited to see Betty and Rachel in LA. I was intrigued about the addition of the Maysles and the video projections. But the show just seemed to drag. Betty in particular sang everything with (in my opinion) no life or passion and sooooooo slowly. And "Five Fifteen" had all the energy and momentum of a broken down car instead of a train excitedly racing from NYC.

#35

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/21/17 at 2:04am

I love Miss Buckley, but she did take her moments, didn't she?

#36

Grey Gardens

Posted: 4/21/17 at 2:20am

I personally do feel like there is a lot of plot development in the Grey Gardens, especially the first act. The second act is largely based on the documentary, which is not as plot driven, but still, there's a clear story arc within it.

I liked parts of Far From Heaven's music, but it just never really took off for me. Wish Kelli got more to do.

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