Down the Garden Path

REVIEW: Grey Gardens

by David Anthony Fox

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Published: Jun 2, 2009

Mark Garvin (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSIO

Let me be clear from the start: I think Grey Gardens is one of a handful of genuinely great musicals in the modern era. Everything about this show clicks, including a smart book by Doug Wright, and music and lyrics by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie that capture an extraordinary range of styles and emotions. I was a little surprised, given my mixed feelings about the source material, a 1975 documentary by the Maysles brothers that charted the strange story of an elderly mother and her middle-aged daughter — the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy — living in squalor in their once-grand home. The movie was undeniably compelling, but more than a little voyeuristic.

Not so the musical, which very cleverly adds a first act where we see the women — Big and Little Edie Beale — in their salad days. Even here, it's clear something isn't quite right with them, and the score makes the point with a pastiche of early pop music styles that suggests the women are living in a kind of private piece of theater. When Act 2 arrives — set more than 30 years later — the style is fragmented and introspective. Both Edies are treated with loving respect. And on Broadway, where they were played by Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson, two magnificent singing actresses at the top of their craft, I felt in the presence of greatness.

There is much to admire in the Philadelphia Theatre Co. production directed by Lisa Peterson, but this fragile, nuanced piece has been given a sturdily competent production rather than a magical one. The first act especially is off — in a large and underfurnished living room, everybody seems to be shouting at each other all the time. It's a requirement of the two principal roles that the Beale girls are simultaneously charming and cracked, and here they seem mostly shrill.

But the second act works better, and there are some wonderful moments. Joy Franz (as mother Edie) is excellent, both touching and funny in "Jerry Likes My Corn." Hollis Resnik rises to the challenge in her shattering final number, "Another Winter in a Summer Town."

In all, even with some reservations, the production at PTC confirms my feelings that Grey Gardens is a must-see for anyone seriously interested in musical theater. Or do I mean interested in serious musical theater?

Grey Gardens Through June 28, $51-$70, Philadelphia Theatre Co. at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St., 215-985-0420, philadelphiatheatrecompany.org

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