Grey Gardens

I was fortunate enough to get a sixth row centre seat to see Grey Gardens for the matinee performance this afternoon (it helps when you're only looking for a single ticket.) This was the one show that I felt I just had to see since I saw a screening of the original documentary of the same name several years ago at the Edmonton International Film Festival with one of the Maysles brothers (the filmmakers) actually in attendance for a question and answer period afterwards.

The star of the Broadway production, Christine Ebersole, was beyond description playing the mother, Edith Bouvier Beale in the first act and then the daughter, Little Edie, in the second act. It was spooky watching two live actresses re-create the true-life characters to the point where you weren't quite sure that they were not, in fact, the real thing! And there was the musical number where Little Edie was doing her American flag number that was probably even better than in the movie because they were able to add the ghosts of the other members of the entire dance troupe behind/with her that she quite certainly imagined herself part of in the documentary. Also the muscial number, The Revolutionary Costume for Today, which Ms. Eversole did for the Tony Awards was phenomenal. It is so sad that this show is closing Sunday - it was jawdroppingly amazing and very touching - the final scene had lots of people dabbing their eyes during the standing ovation. This is a musical I won't likely forget ... ever. Da-da da dah dum.