#1
Posted: 7/8/07 at 8:24pm
Things are in a state of semi-disrepair at Grey Gardens.
Act I is a breathless race to the finish, reminiscent of the bizarre Jack Lemmon production of Long Day's Journey into Night. Act II is significantly slower, much like how I remembered it last time. I recall, in October, getting out at nearly precisely two hours and forty minutes after the show started. Today, the show was no more than 2.5. I attribute this to the speed of Act I, which today was just about a little over an hour. More on that in a few.
The cast is still uniformly strong. They've all grown so beautifully into their characters...so much nuance, pathos...except Christine Ebersole, who, while still (insert glowingly positive adjective here), seems to have hit her stride in October and never went forward. I'm not saying she's bored, I'm not saying she's phoning it in. It's just that she's giving the same exact performance that she was nearly 9 months ago when the show began on Broadway: the nuances never change, her tears at the end of "Another Winter" seem now to be by rote. Still a performance amazing beyond words, despite her voice sounding extremely strained.
Mary Louise Wilson is, also, brilliant beyond words. John McMartin makes the most of his tiny parts. Erin Davie, I must say, has had the most significant growth in terms of characterization. Too bad she wasn't nominated for a Tony. Bob Stillman and Matt Cavenaugh are also very good, as are Sarah Hyland and Kelsey Fowler.
As I said earlier, my problem with Act I, as it played this afternoon, was that it was so fast that you couldn't understand a damn word anyone said. I likened it to the Jack Lemmon "Long Day's Journey...", in which the actors were directed to talk as quickly as possible, cut each other off, talk over one another, etc. I don't remember this when I first saw Grey Gardens, but, of course, I could be wrong. I didn't remember that "Around the World" came before "Choose to be Happy."
This is a show that needs to be seen - such a shame they can't fill the house. I'd pump my own money into it if I had a significant amount. I moved from the balcony to the mezzanine, which wasn't full at all. Very upsetting, though the orchestra was completely full. And the audience seemed to enjoy it very much.
Aside: noticed Charles Busch in the audience and had the extreme pleasure of sitting behind Broadway's newest starlet, Laura Osnes, who, as I understood it, moved down from the balcony, as well. Much to my surprise, Osnes (who is significantly better looking in person) is one of the most personable and pleasant people I've ever had the opportunity to talk to. And by talk, I mean the whole life story.
Ah, Broadway. Making dreams come true day after day. My extreme thanks and good wishes to the cast of Grey Gardens (if they happen to be reading this). It is the one show I can think of (in all my years of going to the theater) that ended up with a raw deal. Go see it. It MUST be seen.
Act I is a breathless race to the finish, reminiscent of the bizarre Jack Lemmon production of Long Day's Journey into Night. Act II is significantly slower, much like how I remembered it last time. I recall, in October, getting out at nearly precisely two hours and forty minutes after the show started. Today, the show was no more than 2.5. I attribute this to the speed of Act I, which today was just about a little over an hour. More on that in a few.
The cast is still uniformly strong. They've all grown so beautifully into their characters...so much nuance, pathos...except Christine Ebersole, who, while still (insert glowingly positive adjective here), seems to have hit her stride in October and never went forward. I'm not saying she's bored, I'm not saying she's phoning it in. It's just that she's giving the same exact performance that she was nearly 9 months ago when the show began on Broadway: the nuances never change, her tears at the end of "Another Winter" seem now to be by rote. Still a performance amazing beyond words, despite her voice sounding extremely strained.
Mary Louise Wilson is, also, brilliant beyond words. John McMartin makes the most of his tiny parts. Erin Davie, I must say, has had the most significant growth in terms of characterization. Too bad she wasn't nominated for a Tony. Bob Stillman and Matt Cavenaugh are also very good, as are Sarah Hyland and Kelsey Fowler.
As I said earlier, my problem with Act I, as it played this afternoon, was that it was so fast that you couldn't understand a damn word anyone said. I likened it to the Jack Lemmon "Long Day's Journey...", in which the actors were directed to talk as quickly as possible, cut each other off, talk over one another, etc. I don't remember this when I first saw Grey Gardens, but, of course, I could be wrong. I didn't remember that "Around the World" came before "Choose to be Happy."
This is a show that needs to be seen - such a shame they can't fill the house. I'd pump my own money into it if I had a significant amount. I moved from the balcony to the mezzanine, which wasn't full at all. Very upsetting, though the orchestra was completely full. And the audience seemed to enjoy it very much.
Aside: noticed Charles Busch in the audience and had the extreme pleasure of sitting behind Broadway's newest starlet, Laura Osnes, who, as I understood it, moved down from the balcony, as well. Much to my surprise, Osnes (who is significantly better looking in person) is one of the most personable and pleasant people I've ever had the opportunity to talk to. And by talk, I mean the whole life story.
Ah, Broadway. Making dreams come true day after day. My extreme thanks and good wishes to the cast of Grey Gardens (if they happen to be reading this). It is the one show I can think of (in all my years of going to the theater) that ended up with a raw deal. Go see it. It MUST be seen.
Updated On: 7/8/07 at 08:24 PM
