Grey Gardens

By Angie Bedford

Grey Gardens

Photos : Jeff Busby

The Production Company finish off their 2011 season with yet another Australian Premiere, this time of Grey Gardens.

Grey Gardens, a musical adaptation of the 1975 documentary drama, achieved reasonable success on Broadway around five years ago, nabbing two Tony awards for its leading actresses.

The content matter is certainly unusual fodder. Here we have two stories which focus on an unusual family – dominated by Edith Bouvier Beale, an amateur singer who married a lawyer and bore three children, including a daughter, of a similar name but known as ‘Little Edie’.

The women were respectively the aunt and cousin of former US First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Onassis. The family lived in Grey Gardens, an elegant home in New York’s East Hampton.
By 1971, Little Edie and her mother were still living in Grey Gardens, surrounded by cats and living in squalor. 

A tabloid newspaper generated interest in the scandal and eventually Jackie Onassis and her sister Lee Radziwill provided the funds to clean up the house.

The musical documents two contrasting times (part fact, part fiction) in the Beales’ lives, the first Act set in 1941, where 24 year old ‘Little’ Edie Beale (Liz Stiles) is set to marry Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr. but seems destined to stay at Grey Gardens with her scene stealing mother, 47 year old Edith Bouvier Beale (Pamela Rabe). 

The second Act brings us to 1973, where Little Edie (Pamela Rabe) is now 56 and living in the decrepit Grey Gardens with her 79 year old mother, Edith Bouvier Beale (Nancye Hayes).

The music is largely unremarkable, but the musical is paced well, with a speedy first Act. A short period of time – Little Edie’s engagement day – reveals lots about the various family members, from Edith Bouvier Beale’s penchant for attention, Little Edie’s flirtatious past and Joseph Kennedy Jr.’s (Alex Rathgeber) ambition. We slowly see Edith Bouvier Beale’s world crumble around her, with the departure of both Little Edie and Beale’s camp pianist and confidante, George Gould Strong (James Millar).

Given the ordinary nature of the score and at times confusing circumstances, the show would easily be onerous if not for the strength of the narrative, carried with gusto by the exceptional Pamela Rabe. 

Act two is ten times better than the first – with Rabe now playing the role of Little Edie, who has been drawn back to her mother and Grey Gardens. Rabe’s portrayal of the infantile and confounded Edie beautifully blends pathos and comedy – it is an absolute treat to see Rabe own the dual roles, without doubt one of her finest performances.

Nancye Hayes’ portrayal of the older Edith Bouvier Beale is suitably wistful and the snappy dialogue between the two actresses is just sublime, however depressing the subject matter. These moments are interspersed with bizarre – yet welcome – ensemble sequences supporting Little Edie’s imagination and constant need to perform. 

‘The House We Live In’ was remarkable yet tragic, with Little Edie performing draped in a ill fitting red dress and waving the American flag backed up the ensemble.

Rabe and Hayes are supported by an equally talented supporting cast, with a standout performance by Alex Rathegeber as Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr. as well as the distinctly different young Jerry. Liz Stiles shines as Little Edie. 

Young Ariel Kaplan and adorable Caitlin Vippond more than keep up with their co-stars as Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Bouvier and Lee Bouvier respectively. James Millar is endearing as George Gould Strong and Bert LaBonte as Brooks Jr. and Sr. and John O’May as J.V. ‘Major’ Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale deliver wonderful performances.

Set Designer Richard Roberts has done a great job bringing Grey Gardens to The Production Company’s first performance at the Playhouse, with one of their best set designs to date. An outline of the grand home on a scrim is used to good effect in the prologue, and is lifted to reveal a lovely representation of the inside of this grand home. Its transformation into squalor in Act two is equally as strong.

Fleur Thiemeyer’s costume design suitably reflects both distinctive eras.  Dana Jolly’s choreography is well executed throughout, using a small downstage space well. Roger Hodgman’s Direction moves the show along nicely, and is also at its best in the excellent second Act.

Grey Gardens is a fascinating expose into a bizarre set of circumstances. Although Grey Gardens’ music is forgettable, the interesting narrative and a career best performance from Pamela Rabe make it well worth seeing.