Why was Grey Gardens a Flop

GREY GARDENS lost its entire investment.

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i still think of it as a success.

Quite a few regional theaters have taken it on, which surprises me. Not bad for a flop.

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to continue Roscoe's train of thought

but still, those shows had a wider appeal than Grey Gardens.

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The disastrous decision to change the advertising to a "tabloid style" to bring in tourists couldn't have helped matters.

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God, as the Joker would say "Where.... do I begin?"

Let's begin with the Tony Awards. That's where America, and, yes, even most of New York actually saw "Grey Gardens" for the first time. And what did they see? An itchy performance by someone that nobody outside of Broadway-lovers really knows (don't bother to mention her TV work, she has a Q-rating of three)doing what seemed like a Ratzo Rizzo-in-drag portrayal of some weird woman they were told was related to a president who died in 1963.

Yeah, that's gonna pack the seats.

The show failed because it's basically a two-hander about the type of relatives you spent your entire life avoiding, or the neighbors you see rummaging through your trash, looking for "treasures" before the garbage collectors arrive.

You can't expect to fill a theater for years with that.

You can only get so far on Christine Ebersole's "eerie performance."

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Updated On: 7/29/08 at 10:44 AM

The performances in GREY GARDENS were very good, however, the show itself left much to be desired. I think the REAL story was lost during intermission. I mean, how did these two intelligent and educated women develop such hideous speech patterns and choose to live in squalor? Yes, they had great disappoints in life, but does that change the way a person talks?

PS--I'm a Long Islander and well aware of regional dialects.

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Finacial flop, sure. Artistic and critical flop, absolutely not. It'll live on forever as all good musicals do. Here's a point I want to make. It's sad, but when people come to Broadway they want big sets and loud noises and fluff. Storytelling doesn't matter to them. However, when a show is done at a community theatre or on tour, people want to see a story told well. That's why Oklahoma! is always done across the country. That's why Light in the Piazza is becoming a regional favorite and had a highly successful national tour (Which I doubted. Shows how much I know!). And that's why Grey Gardens is being booked by all these regional and community theatres. It's a wonderful story with great characters and brilliant writing. In the comfort of their own home, people want to see that. I don't know why they don't when they come to Broadway.
Anyway, Grey Gardens was a breathtaking show. It was a year ago to day that it closed. May it live on forever.

Long established regional theatre have strong subscription bases. They can do obscure and/or "flop" shows because they don't have to rely on individual ticket sales. The Northlight Theatre in Skokie Illinois has 10,000 subscribers. They are doing Grey Gardens for a five week run. Just their subscriber base guarantees them half-filled houses throughout the run, even if they don't sell a single individual ticket betyond that.

All of the major reviewers loved Grey Gardens. So it's not fair to say it got mixed reviews.

Ticket sales picked up after the Tonys. Ticket sales are not the major, if any reason, the show closed.

Some people hated the show, some people loved it. But let's at least be honest with the actual facts.

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I think even the biggest fans know that the material appeals to a limited audience. That has no bearing on whether or not the piece is good. It could affect its longevity, but I think you'll be surprised to see that the show--especially it's score--will live on.

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It was a Broadway show that wasn't a sh!t sandwitch, so it didn't last very long.