GREY GARDENS THE MUSICAL... A LIFE LONG AFTER BROADWAY

A review of The Philadelphia Theatre Company's production by Robb Brawn & Lee Arboreen.

It has already been almost 2 years since Grey Gardens closed at the Walter Kerr Theater on broadway (July 29th 2007), after 33 previews and only 307 performances. Thankfully, however, the brilliant musical adaptation of the 1975 Maysles documentary, lives on, and continues to provide a truly wonderful theatre experience in local productions from LA to Philadelphia.

Being very familiar with the broadway musical as well as the original Playwrights Horizon's production, the absence of the two major sets, which were the facade of the exterior of the house, and the living room/music room(complete with portrait of Phelan Beale) inside Grey Gardens was at first very bothersome. Our dissapointment with the set (or lack there of) quickly melted away, as the spectacular cast demonstrated their outstanding vocal abilities. Each cast member better than the next in delivering a crystal clear delivery of the tunes. Hollis Resnik, who plays Big Edith in act one and Little Edie in act two delivered a wonderful performance, demonstrating not only the many voices of the character, but the performer as well. Kim Carson, who plays little Edie in act one is a beautiful young woman with a voice to match, and off stage, is just a really sweet person. Joy Frantz, who plays Big Edith in act 2 delivered a wonderful performance. The girls who played Lee Bouvier and Jacqueline Bouvier, played by Anastasia Korbal and Greta Bradbury, both had quite a set of lungs and matching pipes, and are delightful young ladies off stage.

All the other actors, Todd Almond (George Gould Strong), Jame Ijames( Brooks Sr & Jr), Cole Burden ( Joseph Patrick Kennedy)/Jerry), and John Jellison ( "Major" Bouvier/Norman Vincent Peale), were also superb, adding their individual talents to the tightly knit ensemble.

We don't think any other actress will ever capture the essence of Edie Beale like Christine Ebersole, who played her both on broadway and at Playwrights. Christine told us that she actually feels she is "chaneling" both Edies. Hollis Resnik, however gives her quite a run for her money vocally, and opinion only here, surpasses Christine's rendition of the haunting closing ballad "Another Winter In A Summer Town". Hollis has an extremely pleasing, full bodied timbre to her voice. This is an extremely demanding role vocally, as the lead is on stage most of the time in both acts. The only musical we are aware of with similar demands is Gypsy. We'd like to send out Congratulations to Hollis on being the recipient of the Sarah Siddons Society's Chicago's Leading Lady Award 2008-2009 for her role in Grey Gardens at the Northlight Theatre in Skokie Il. For more about that production and Hollis, click below

NORTHLIGHT

Despite missing the 2 main sets, the production value was still of high quality. A multi leveled set used in act 2 was carefully built to accommodate several of the musical numbers and was quite effective.

We attended a very special performance of the show on Sunday, May 31st. After the show, all 3 creators, Doug Wright (book), Scott Frankel (Music), and Michael Korie (Lyrics) did a Q & A with the audience. It was a unique opportunity to ask anything they wanted regarding the creation of the the show. Thankfully for everyone involved, Robb had already conducted an extensive interview with lyricist Michael Korie, and had picked his brain on almost any question anyone could come up with !

As I've told Scott & Michael, having had a very special friendship with little Edie, very much based on our mutual love for music (and cats), I know she would have been so pleased with this musical. On the other hand, I think both Edies would NOT have been very happy with the recent HBO production, although both actresses (Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lang) both nailed the actual characters.

We continue to be in awe of the the talents of the three gentleman who made it possible for us all to enjoy this wonderful story put to music. We hope the musical lives on for long time ! Hopefully the next incarnation will not be Grey Gardens on Ice, as Scott Frankel quipped about after the show.

Tickets are still available for the Philadelphia performance, so if you're you're anywhere near us, the show runs until June 28th, Click below for ticket information.

GREY GARDENS PHILLY

For more on everything Grey Gardens, please visit our web site at MyGreyGardens.com