''Grey Gardens'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

with book by

Doug Wright Douglas Wright (born December 20, 1962) is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play ''I Am My Own Wife''. Early years Wright was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended and ...

, music by

Scott Frankel Scott David Frankel (born May 6, 1963) is an American composer. Career Early life Frankel began his music education taking piano lessons with Betty Belkin in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Interlochen Arts Camp, Hawken School (‘81) and graduated f ...

, and lyrics by

Michael Korie Michael Korie (born April 1, 1955) is an American librettist and lyricist whose writing for musical theater and opera includes the musicals ''Grey Gardens'' and '' Far From Heaven'', and the operas ''Harvey Milk'' and ''The Grapes of Wrath''. His ...

, produced in 2006 and based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of

Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (October 5, 1895 – February 5, 1977) was an American socialite and singer known for her reclusive and eccentric lifestyle. Known as Big Edie, she was a sister of John Vernou Bouvier III and an aunt of Jacqueline ...

("Big Edie") and her daughter

Edith Bouvier Beale Edith Bouvier Beale (November 7, 1917 – January 14, 2002), nicknamed Little Edie, was an American socialite, fashion model, and cabaret performer. She was a first cousin of Jacqueline Onassis and Lee Bouvier Radziwill. She is best known for ...

("Little Edie") by

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

and

David Maysles Albert Maysles (November 26, 1926 – March 5, 2015) and his brother David Maysles (January 10, 1931 – January 3, 1987; ) were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films i ...

. The Beales were

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

's aunt and cousin, respectively. Set at Grey Gardens, the Bouviers' mansion in East Hampton,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the musical tracks the progression of the two women's lives from their original status as rich and socially polished aristocrats to their eventual largely isolated existence in a home overrun by cats and cited for repeated health code violations. However, its more central purpose is to untangle the complicated dynamics of their dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship.

Storyline

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.

Productions

The musical opened

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

on February 10, 2006, and ran through April 30, 2006. Directed by

Michael Greif Michael Greif (born ca. 1959 in Brooklyn, New YorkWelsh, Anne Marie, "New York and family call Michael Greif home", ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', October 10, 1999, p.E-1) is an American stage director. He has won three Obie Award, Obie Awards a ...

with choreography by Jeff Calhoun, it starred

Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals '' 42nd Street'' and ''Grey Gardens'', winning two Tony Awards. She has co-s ...

Mary Louise Wilson Mary Louise Wilson (born November 12, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. In a career that has spanned more than 50 years, she has appeared in a number of plays, films and television shows. Wilson's most notable work includes a ...

, and

John McMartin John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929 – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television. Life and career McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana, on August 21, 1929, and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating fro ...

. It received mixed reviews, but attracted particularly good reviews for Ebersole and Wilson. It earned five Lucille Lortel Award nominations and twelve

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

nominations. Christine Ebersole received the

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

, a Special Citation from the

New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

, and the

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

for Performance of the Year (2006) for her dual roles of Edith and Edie Beale in the off-Broadway production. The show opened, with revisions, on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

on November 2, 2006, at the

Walter Kerr Theatre The Walter Kerr Theatre, previously the Ritz Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 219 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed for the Shube ...

and closed on July 29, 2007, after 307 performances and 33 previews. The production was nominated for 10

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

in 2007, winning three, including awards for both Ebersole and Wilson in leading and featured actress categories, respectively. According to an article in ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...

'' 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." In the spring of 2013, a three-month run was mounted in Seattle as a co-production between the

5th Avenue Theatre The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theatre located in Seattle's Skinner Building, in the U.S. state of Washington. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building and land are owned b ...

and

ACT Theatre ACT Theatre (originally A Contemporary Theatre) is a regional, non-profit theatre organization in Seattle, in the US state of Washington. Gregory A. Falls (1922–1997) founded ACT in 1965 and served as its first Artistic director; at the time ACT ...

, starring

Patti Cohenour Patti Cohenour (born October 17, 1952 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.) is an American actress and singer. She last performed as the standby for Elizabeth Arden in the Broadway musical '' War Paint'', a position she also held in the pre Broadway ...

and Suzy Hunt. In August 2015, a three-week production was held at the Bay Street Theater,

Sag Harbor, New York Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on eastern Long Island. The village developed as a working port on Gardiner's Bay. The population was 2,772 at the ...

. Directed by Michael Wilson, the cast featured

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

Rachel York Rachel York (born August 7, 1971) is an American actress and singer. She is known for stage roles in '' City of Angels'', ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'', ''Les Misérables'', ''Victor/Victoria'', ''Kiss Me, Kate'', ''Sly Fox'', '' Dirty Rotten Scound ...

, Matt Doyle (Joe/Jerry), Simon Jones (Major/Peale),

Howard McGillin Howard McGillin (born November 5, 1953, in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. He is known for his role of John Jasper in ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' and for portraying the role The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''The Phantom of ...

(George Gould Strong), James Harkness (Brooks Sr./Brooks Jr.), Sarah Hunt (Young Edie), Gracie Beardsley (Lee), and Dakota Quackenbush. Buckley and York star in a production at the

Ahmanson Theatre The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that compose the Los Angeles Music Center. History The theatre was built as a result of a donation from Howard F. Ahmanson Sr, the founder of H.F. Ahmanson & Co., an insurance and savings an ...

, Los Angeles, California, again directed by Michael Wilson in July and August 2016.

International productions

The Australian premiere was a limited run from November 25 to December 4, 2011, presented by

The Production Company The Production Company was an Australian not-for-profit theatre company that staged a series of usually three musicals at the Arts Centre Melbourne each year, until its closure in 2020. It was launched in 1999 by Jeanne Pratt AC with the goal o ...

at the

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...

Playhouse. Directed by

Roger Hodgman Roger Hodgman (born 1 December 1943) is an Australian stage and television director. He was educated at the Hutchins School and the University of Tasmania, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science in 1966, an ...

, the cast featured

Pamela Rabe Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname *Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...

and

Nancye Hayes Nancye Lee Bertles AM ( Hayes; born January 1943), billed under her maiden name as Nancye Hayes, is an Australian actress, dancer, singer and choreographer/director and narrator. She has been a leading figure in Australian musical theatre sin ...

. The Australian production was nominated for the

Helpmann Award for Best Musical The Helpmann Award for Best Musical is a musical theatre award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2001. The award is for a production in Australia, and is open to both new musicals and revivals. Th ...

in 2012. The Canadian premiere was presented from May 2–19, 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. 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 an approximate total 9.000 spectators. 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 Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musica ...

and

Jenna Russell Jenna Russell (born 5 October 1967) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared on the stage in London in both musicals and dramas, as well as appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She performed the role of Dot in ''Sunday in the ...

Documentary

A documentary from

Independent Lens ''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...

, ''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 Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, and was later shown on television on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

stations.

Cast

Song list

Act I

*"The Girl Who Has Everything" ≈ — Recording of Edith's voice *"The Five-Fifteen" — Edith, Gould, Brooks, Jackie and Lee *"Mother Darling" — Edie, Edith, and Gould *"Goin' Places" ≈ — Joe and Edie *"Marry Well" ≈ — Major Bouvier, Brooks, Jackie, Lee and Edie *"Hominy Grits" — Edith, Gould, Jackie and Lee *"Peas in a Pod" — Edie and Edith *"Drift Away" — Gould and Edith *"The Five-Fifteen" (Reprise) — Edith *"Daddy's Girl" — Edie and Joe *"The Telegram" — Edie *"Will You?" — Edith

Act II

*"The Revolutionary Costume for Today" — Edie *"The Cake I Had" — Edith *"Entering Grey Gardens" — Ensemble *"The House We Live In" — Edie and Ensemble *"Jerry Likes My Corn" — Edith *"Around the World" — Edie *"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. 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 Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine named ''Grey Gardens'' the best show to come out in 2006. In reviewing the off-Broadway production,

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

, reviewing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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". 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 Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

's. The score is a meticulously fashioned piece of musical theater that gains in depth the more you listen to it."

Recordings

The

cast album was released on August 22, 2006.Jones, Kennet
"'Grey Gardens' Will Sprout a Fresh Broadway Cast Album, Due in March"
playbill.com, February 12, 2007 The Original Broadway Cast album was released on March 27, 2007, through PS Classics.Portantiere, Michae

theatermania.com, April 3, 2007 It was nominated for a 2008

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Musical Show Album.

Awards and nominations

Original off-Broadway production

Original Broadway production

Notes

References

Grey Gardens, the MusicalProduction: Grey Gardens
''Working in the Theatre'' video from the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

, November 2006

External links

* *
GREY GARDENS: From East Hampton to Broadway
site for

East of Doheny, production companyGrey Gardens Online Information Website
{{Grey Gardens 2006 musicals Musicals based on films Broadway musicals Off-Broadway musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events Bouvier family Beale family Cultural depictions of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Tony Award-winning musicals