Comments on: Grey Gardens

By: Steven McKnight

Steven McKnight — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:35:53 +0000

I saw “Grey Gardens” over the holidays and, in contrast to Gary, found it different from the Broadway production in tone and nuance. I thought the Studio production has performances that were warmer and more likeable, but perhaps less true to the artistic intent. On Broadway, Little Edie was more unhappy and the situation of the two ladies was more heartbreaking. At Studio, their plight doesn’t seem nearly as dire. While I enjoyed the Studio production and thought many of the individual performances were excellent, it didn’t touch me in the same way that the edgier Broadway production did.

By: Bert

Bert — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:17:12 +0000

Interesting… I found the first act to be trite and a bit too fluffy for my taste. The second act is when I fell in love with the piece. Not a single person I know who has seen the piece has ever thought that highly of the first act, unless they came in expecting the show to be like Music Man or She Loves Me. It’s a bit too old school for my taste

By: Ernie Joselovitz

Ernie Joselovitz — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:15:49 +0000

I saw it opening night to the usual opening night bravos. Certainly the performances were splendid. I was especially impressed by the way in which the songs were dramatized, made a part of the scenes. The second act, of an innovatively off-beat musical, is without story, which for me lessens its effectiveness. For instance, a haunting song like …LIKES MY CORN only illustrates the dramatic pointlessness of that going-nowhere storyline.

Maybe not deserving your rave. But certainly an ovation.

By: Will W.

Will W. — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:01:54 +0000

Mr. McMillan:

Thank you for a brilliant review. Saw the show twice in DC last week. The audience Friday night was DEAD; Wednesday night a little better–a few people even stood at the end. Plus, Friday night a cell phone went off in Act II and Ms. Walsh registered extreme displeasure. Thought she might even stop to admonish the offending jerk.

At both performances, Ms. Walsh said “la tout Park Avenue” and bungled “la creme de Hyanis” in “The Five-Fifteen”. OK, so she didn’t major in French at Vassar. Putting a turban on her was not, in my opinion, a wise move. Made her look like Nora Desmond. And her Act I shoes were not “society” enough. Ebersole, if my memory serves me correctly, wore silk (or satin?) covered shoes that matched her coat in that act. Also, the Act I finale wig worn by Ms. Walsh looked a tad convoluted and the dress not true to the period–1941. Perhaps my fashion eye is wrong. Maybe Mr. Jaeger was aiming for a Madame Gres look?

Don’t remember on Broadway Gould being referred to in Act I as a composer of “boogie-woogie” songs.

Minor quibbles to one side, the show is one of the greatest written for the musical stage. The score and lyrics are brilliant. “Winter in a Summer Town” always moves me to tears. Saw it 10 times in NYC where I live. Sometimes, would find myself sitting next to middle-aged straight women who would admit to “not getting it” and sometimes next to gay men who had the same reaction. In DC it seemed to me that no one got it, at least, at the performances I attended. No excited chat during the intermission, although one man was humming “Will You?” in the john. In my opinion, that song is a beautiful as anything Coward ever wrote.

You’re a brilliant reviewer and first-rate writer. It was a great pleasure reading your review.

Thank you.