The first act depicts the characters in their heyday and is a speculative take on what their lives might have been like when they were younger, when Little Edie was 24 and Big Edie 47. The second act is set 32 years later in 1973 at the decaying Grey Gardens estate and hews closely to the Maysles Brothers' documentary in its portrayal of them in their later years, when Little Edie is 56 and Big Edie is 79. While the first act is almost entirely fictional (the central event, the engagement between Little Edie and Joseph Kennedy, never happened), the second act takes much of its dialogue and action directly from the film. The same actress who plays Big Edie in the first act plays Little Edie in the second act.
Marquee for the original Broadway production at The Walter Kerr Theatre in 2006
The show opened, with revisions, on Broadway on November 2, 2006, at the Walter Kerr Theatre and closed on July 29, 2007, after 307 performances and 33 previews. The production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2007, winning three, including awards for both Ebersole and Wilson in leading and featured actress categories, respectively.
According to an article in Playbill on November 21, 2007, composer Scott Frankel said there were no plans for a national tour based on the 2006-07 Broadway production, but "Dramatists Play Service, Inc. is handling the show's licensing to stock, amateur, university and resident theatres. Independent productions, which started playing in those markets in 2008."[2]
In August 2015, a three-week production was held at the Bay Street Theater, Sag Harbor, New York. Directed by Michael Wilson, the cast featured Betty Buckley, Rachel York, Matt Doyle (Joe/Jerry), Simon Jones (Major/Peale), Howard McGillin (George Gould Strong), James Harkness (Brooks Sr./Brooks Jr.), Sarah Hunt (Young Edie), Gracie Beardsley (Lee), and Dakota Quackenbush.[3][4] Buckley and York star in a production at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, California, again directed by Michael Wilson in July and August 2016.[5]
The Canadian premiere was presented from May 2 to 19, 2012 by Fighting Chance Productions in Vancouver, BC at the Jericho Arts Centre. The cast featured Cathy Wilmot (Big Edie - Act One/Little Edie - Act Two), Lucas Blaney (Joe Kennedy), Ranae Miller (Little Edie - Act One), Sue Sparlin (Big Edie - Act Two), Jack Rigg (Major Bouvier), Carman J. Price (Gould), Hal Rogers (Brooks), Angela Cotton (Jackie Bouvier) and Emma Cawood (Lee Bouvier) with direction and musical staging by Ryan Mooney and music direction by Caitlin Hayes.
A Japanese production opened on November 7, 2009, at Theater Creation in Tokyo and closed on December 6. The production then toured other Japanese cities, including Osaka and Nagoya.[7]
A Brazilian production opened on March 15, 2013, at the Sala Municipal Baden Powell in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, performing 32 times and closing on May 5, 2013. With musical translations, adaptations, and production by Jonas Klabin with additional musical translations by Claudio Botelho, directed by Wolf Maya, musical direction Carlos Bauzys and Daniel Rocha. Starring Soraya Ravenle, Suely Franco, Carol, Puntel, Guilherme Terra, Sandro Christopher, Pierre Baitelli, Jorge Maya, Danilo Timm, Raquel Bonfante and Sofia Viamonte, with Mirna Rubim substituting Suely Franco during the last couple weeks. There were approximately 9000 spectators.[8]
The Brazilian production was nominated:
3x to Cesgranrio Award (best light design for Luiz Paulo Nenen, best set design for Bia Junqueira, best actress for Suely Franco).
3x to APTR Award (best set design for Bia Junqueira, best supporting actress for Suely Franco, best production by popular vote Jonas Klabin (Oz).
1x to Shell Award (best actress for Suely Franco).
The production's set design was also selected for exhibit at the Prague Quadrennial 2015, Bia Junqueira was one of the set designer selected to represent Brazil.
London
The musical had its UK premiere at the Southwark Playhouse in January 2016. Directed by Thom Southerland, the cast included Sheila Hancock and Jenna Russell.[9]
Documentary
A documentary from Independent Lens, Grey Gardens: From East Hampton to Broadway, about the making of the musical, was screened on October 18, 2007, at the Hamptons International Film Festival Long Island,[10] and was later shown on television on PBS stations.
"Choose to Be Happy" — Norman Vincent Peale and Ensemble
"Around the World" (Reprise) — Edie
"Another Winter in a Summer Town" — Edie and Edith
"The Girl Who Has Everything" (Reprise) — Recording of Edith's voice
≈ denotes new songs written for the Broadway production.[11]
Songs omitted in the Broadway production: "Toyland", "Body Beautiful Beale", "Being Bouvier", "Better Fall Out of Love", "Tomorrow's Woman", "Peas in a Pod" (Reprise).
Reception
The Broadway production was received enthusiastically by critics. Time magazine named Grey Gardens the best show to come out in 2006.[12] In reviewing the off-Broadway production, Ben Brantley, reviewing for The New York Times, wrote "A blend of gentle compassion and acute observation, Ms. Ebersole's performance is one of the most gorgeous ever to grace a musical." However, he also noted that the musical "tilts perilously toward cheap celebrity camp". With a "very long and finally tedious first act".[13]Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that the musical "brings to mind two phrases seldom linked nowadays: 'Broadway musical' and 'artistic integrity' the songs, with music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie, sustain a level of refined language and psychological detail as elevated as Stephen Sondheim's. The score is a meticulously fashioned piece of musical theater that gains in depth the more you listen to it."[14][15]
Recordings
The Off-Broadway cast album was released on August 22, 2006.[11]
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