I like the original "Grey Gardens" finale better...

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 9:49pm

I mean, of course Little Edie goes back. But, the old reprise of "Peas in a Pod" felt closer to the documentary. The new one ends so sadly, but I left the documentary feeling like, "OK, they drive each other insane, but they love each other and there's a chance that they may be happy."

Anyone have any thoughts?

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 9:53pm

I didn't see the show off-Broadway, and I never saw the documentart. Just listening to both recordings, I feel like the new ending works better. After "Another Winter..." I don't think Edie would really be attempting to look on the bright side. She doesn't want to be back.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 9:54pm

The new one is so f*cking chilling.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 9:56pm

OO, I know it is. I can still see Christine's face as she turns on the record and goes to the window...Oh my God.

And, dancingthrulife, I see what you mean, but she doesn't start wanting to look on the bright side, but her mother manages to make her in her own twisted way...just like always.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 9:57pm

I thought the same too... But I think the (production team) want to end Grey Gardens with the "The Girl Who had Everything " with a more haunting tune.
with Mary Louise Wilson saying...'you choose" ( rather than singing " Peas in a Pod")
then the music plays and the lights fade out..

For me this means - the mother would do everything so her daughter will stay with her and vice versa Little Edie cannot really leave his mother.. Its an endless cycle. People stucked in an endless relationship & responsiblities that they cannot escape...... Its ironic why Big Eddie said.. "you choose "

But you know what.. I love Grey Gardens so much- that even if the Old Lady goes naked at the end- I would still like the show..

J*


Updated On: 6/29/07 at 09:57 PM

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 9:57pm

I see what you mean. In the same respect though, I kind of took it as Edie NOT falling for it this time. She didn't want to let her mother drag her that far back.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 9:57pm

I think it would be such a drastic change in emotion if you were to go from such an emotional moment like "Another Winter..." to a reprise of "Peas in a Pod".

[jaystarr]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 10:01pm

wonderfulwizard- that's a perfect answer ! and the ending was an improvement.

I saw the Off Broadway & Broadway productions and both were equally life changing experience to me..

J*

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 10:02pm

True. But, again, that reminds me of how Little Edie is. Remember, she comes out of the attic where she just went through the roler coaster that is "Around the World" mocking "Will You?" The woman had a tendency to mood swing a bit.

[Up In Lost]

Posted: 6/29/07 at 10:02pm

I still think it is interesting that at the top of Act 2 Little Edie says "She makes all the decisions, she has me absolutely buffaloed," but at the very end Big Edie says the "You choose." line.

[allvocal]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 2:20am

I liked the Off-Broadway one better.. Like in the first Act "Peas In a Pod".. the daughter tries to get the mother to sing with her... draging it out of her.. and then at the end.. the mother does it to her.. plus the line.. "..and I'll give you my independence.." sooo sad.. cause thats exactly what they both did.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 2:29am

Well, but that's the whole point of the first "Peas in a Pod" that it's a chilling song that foreshadows what they eventually become but it isn't as pretty and neat as the song makes it out to bed ("We will build a cozy retreat which no nosy neighbors can see from the street"). The reprise is not needed and it also makes it easy to dismiss the whole second act as some kind of craziness that always ends up in happiness.
The end of Act II on Broadway is so claustrophobic, chilling, heart-breaking, and shocking for me. It truly makes Edie's journey a painful one.

[Up In Lost]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 2:30am

I never saw the show Off-Broadway, but I do understand how that could work. Big Edie talks about having soup, she could have easily, in a moment of panic that Little Edie was leaving, asked her to sing with her... "Sing with your mother, please Edie? Sing with the old owman, like we used to."

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 3:35am

I still don't have the Broadway OBC, but from what I hear, it seems that the Off-Broadway finale is closer to the documentary. Remember how after all of that, Little Edie tells the camera that she hopes her mother doesn't die and how she loves her? After all the bitching and moaning and bitter tirades about lost youth and opportunity.

[ben4]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 10:23am

Okay, funny situation...

I saw GG in January and loved it. When I got back home I found the CD at my local library. I checked it out and burned a copy, but since it really wasn't clearly labeled I failed to realize it was the off-broadway recording.

I've been listening to it over and over again since then not realizing that that wasn't how it ended when I first saw it.

So it's hard for me to compare, but personally I find the reprise of Peas in a Pod to be very poetic and chilling in its own way.

#1 the lyrics to the girl who has everything just don't speak to me the same way Peas in a Pods lyrics do.

#2 even though Edie is resolving her situation and choosing to accept her mom, it still doesn't mean that she's going to be happy like that forever. I imagine them the next morning arguing/bickering about the same things.

#3 it's a good book-end. "Girl Who Has Everything" is a song that kind of comes and goes without really leaving much impact, whereas Peas in a Pod in Act 1 really makes you stop and contemplate what Edie's relationship really is with her mom. That's why hearing it again at the end of Act 2 is so poignant.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 10:30am

The ending at Playwrights felt like this- "Okay we fight, we're crazy, but we love each other." Not how the show should end. However, on Broadway, the chilling, heartbreaking conclusion is wonderful and how the show should end.

Posted: 6/30/07 at 10:31am

i love them both but i agree that the off-bway version is more in synch with the original film, while the bway version makes for a stronger dramatic structure.

hows that for diplomacy?

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 11:39am

I like that answer, norn.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 12:28pm

I like then off-broadway more then this one.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 1:03pm

I feel the Two Peas in a Pod ending feels contrived and a typical, "Lets slap on a happy ending and let them leave the theatre feeling good."
The new ending really reflects the claustrophobic desperation of Little Edie and the everything is remains staus quo that I found was such a main theme in the original documentary and the supplimental documentary recently released.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 1:08pm

I like the original "Martin Guerre" better.

And the Broadway version of "Grey Gardens."

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 1:49pm

Ultimately, to me, the Broadway ending is the better ending. But I do miss Two Peas acting as the glue that keeps them together in the Off-Broadway version.

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 3:43pm

I love the song "Peas in a Pod," because it can be taken on many levels.
That said, I prefer the Broadway ending. THe slap a happy ending doesn't work. They weren't happy at the end of either documentary. Yes, Edie says she hopes her mother doesn't die. But, she also goes on to talk about the unbearable winters there, too. (Another Winter...)
"The Girl Who Has Everything" harkens back to all Edie COULD have had, the opportunities lost. Really powerful stuff. More than "Two Peas in a Pod," which blurs the dysfunctional nature of their relationship. Edie was really inextricably tied to her mom and gave up all those opportunities to have everything.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 6/30/07 at 6:33pm

The Girl Who Has Everything" harkens back to all Edie COULD have had, the opportunities lost.

Exactly. Being dragged back into her mother's grip, Edie basically feels as though she has nothing. She has lost all of the opportunities she could've taken advantage of if she had left.