Review: GREY GARDENS Is A Musical Look At The Curious Life Of The East Hampton's Ultimate Crazy Cat Ladies.

Friday 20th November 2015, 7:30pm, Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre, Chippendale

Under the direction of Jay James-Moody, GREY GARDENS brings the story of the reclusive Bouvier Beale's, made famous in the 1975 documentary/movie of the same name, to the stage for an entertaining look into a very bizarre world. With the additional 'flashback' to "Big" Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and "Little" Edith Bouvier Beale's recollection of their heyday in the East Hampton's estate, the madness and the fall from greatness becomes even more pointed.

Set Designer Simon Greer has represented the run down 'Grey Gardens' mansion on stage with a glimpse across the cutaway that stretches from the garden into the parlor and beyond into the hallway and staircase. The 1973 run down condition of the house is expressed by the minimal lighting and the dust sheets draped from the walls and over the baby grand piano as the 78 year old "Big" Edie (Maggie Blinco) descends the stairs, calling out to her daughter, the 56 year old "Little" Edie (Beth Daly), recalling a song she used to sing. This draws the audience into a 'memory' of which we are never quite sure of its veracity. With brighter lighting, the house is transformed to its former glory as we are transported to the day of "Little" Edie's engagement party.

This 'flashback' to pre-war 1941 serves to define the relationship between the mother "Big" Edie/Edith (Beth Daly) and daughter "Little" Edie (Caitlin Berry) along with other characters that shaped who they become by 1973. As with "Big" and "Little" Edie, all the characters are based on real people, but the truth of the recollections are not as concrete. We see a self-absorbed Edith wishing to turn her daughter's engagement party into another concert as she plans the performance with live -in accompanist, the camp alcoholic George Gould Strong (Blake Erickson). Edith's father, Major Bouvier (Russell Newman) highlights the type of society they belong to where Edie and her young cousins, Lee Bouvier, who goes on to become Princess Radziwill (Role shared by Sienna Arnold and Jenna Keenan), and Jackie Bouvier, better known as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Role shared by Kelly Callaghan and Sian Fuller), are expected to make advantageous marriages. We also meet the Beale's butler, Brooks Snr (Timothy Springs) before Edie's fiancé Joe Kennedy (Simon McLachlan), older brother to the future President, is introduced and we see the beginning of Edie's demise. Throughout, we also see the cultural insensitivities and accepted crassness of the era which also speaks to WASP sense of entitlement, common in the era and region.

The second act is dedicated to the 1973 situation where "Grey Gardens" is now home to the two bickering women, a multitude of cats, and the occasional raccoon and is the subject of numerous Health Department investigations due to its squalor, flea infestations and strange smells. Whilst the women were once part of the 'High Society', various events that are never quite detailed has caused them to withdraw from the East Hampton's set and rarely leave the house, of which they seem to occupy a single room. Doug Wright (Book), Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (Lyrics) have created a script and score that allows the craziness portrayed on screen to be translated to the stage, turning key scenes into musical numbers and capturing many of the inexplicable moments including the language that flies between the two as they waiver between biting barbs and screams, caring concern and the desire for freedom from the dilapidated house. The inclusion of "ghosts" of the past also serves to highlight the isolation and insanity that the women experience which expands on the movie to try to understand them better.

Holding the dual role of "Big" Edie/Edith in the 1941 memory and "Little" Edie in 1973, Beth Daly creates two distinctly different characters. As "Big" Edie, she still has the trappings of class and refinement from her clothes (Brendan Hay - Costume Design) to her voice and mannerisms. As "Little" Edie, she captures the distinctive voice that sounds like something out of Laverne & Shirley with only a few slips into something that sounds more "Ocker" Australian when she screams at her mother. She presents "Little" Edie's madness and self-assuredness from the explanation of the bizarre costume of stockings and sweater skirt to the absurd song and dance number she puts on for "Big" Edie's friend Jerry (Simon McLachlan).

Maggie Blinco as the 78 year old "Big" Edie in 1973 provides a contrast between Daly's portrayal of the same character at 46 in 1941 and the reclusive crazy cat lady she has become, who reminisces over her heyday as a singer and seeks comfort in the companionship of the young boy Jerry. Vocally, she also presents the change from Daly's beautiful singing to a shaky rougher voice and she maintains the old lady voice that has lost some of the affectations of class.

As "Little" Edie, preparing for her Engagement party, Caitlin Berry captures the spoilt young woman that is perpetually embarrassed by her attention seeking mother. She expresses "Little" Edie's acknowledgement that an advantageous marriage is the key goal of a debutante but she fails to accept that she has different expectations to her betrothed. Other significant performances come from Russell Newman as Major Bouvier, the Patriarch somewhat exhausted by his daughter's antics and what seems to be a kindly grandfather to "Little" Edie, Lee and Jackie. As "Big" Edie's musical accompanist and companion, George Gould Strong, Blake Erickson presents the flamboyant alcoholic as having a loyalty to "Big" Edie but a level of distain for the rest of the family which also treats him as an outsider and "hired help".

Benjamin Brockman's lighting allows the small stage to seem like a large mansion as he divides the space with light, letting us see "Big" Edie in bed whilst "Little" Edie is elsewhere on the property, or the ghosts of the past haunt their memories. Jessica James-Moody has created a sound design that draws on the records that the women enjoyed and it is blended with the live orchestra and vocals which for the most part are well balanced for the space.

GREY GARDENS is an intriguing, entertaining look at part of American history. In contrast to the traditional style all singing and dancing musical numbers and the random bursting into song to deliver conversation, there is a rawness and honesty in the second Act that highlights the changes both in the people and the environment. Squabbalogic have again delivered a wonderful expression of Musical Theatre.

GREY GARDENS

Reginald Theatre, Seymour Centre

November 18 - December 12 2015

Photos: Michael Francis

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