“Grey Gardens” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

*** Gretchen Wood Kimmeth is extraordinary in her portrayal of both the middle-aged Edith Bouvier Beale and the fifty-six-year-old “Little” Edie Beale in the musical “Grey Gardens.” Kimmeth embraces these two major roles with her strong acting and forceful soprano voice, as evinced by her singing “The Girl Who Has Everything” and especially “Will You.” Throughout the show, the audience is thrilled to excellent acting, powerful singing and dancing, enjoyable music, and exciting production numbers by the entire cast, which enliven a sad story about the tensions between a mother and daughter and their codependency. Erin Sheets’ direction is superb as is the music direction by Johanna Moffitt and choreography by Hannah Ottenfeld. At its heart, the story is a fascinating character study. But despite a wonderful performance by Big Noise Theatre and lovely music and lyrics by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, the problem is that the book by Doug Wright is too long and drawn out for today’s audience.

“Grey Gardens’ takes its name from a seven-bedroom estate that is still standing in East Hampton, New York. It was once home to the wealthy Beale family, specifically the aunt and first cousin of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In Act 1, we see the self-involved Edith (played by Kimmeth) who constantly wants to draw as much attention to herself as possible. She is an extremely manipulative mother who constantly ruins her daughter’s prospects for marrying wealthy and well-placed young men. In 1941, “Little” Edie (Mackenzie Maples) is engaged to Joe Kennedy (Benjamin Mills), whom she loves very much. But Joe chooses to call off the engagement in large part due to Edith’s unwarranted interference and salacious gossip: all part of her master plan: Whereas most parents want their child to be happy, Edith feels that she is in competition with her daughter. Since her own marriage is falling apart and her husband Phelan is out of the picture, she doesn’t want “Little” Edie to be married either. But minus her husband, how can Edith obtain the love and devotion that she so craves? She first turns to her (gay) pianist/entertainer Gould (Travis Monroe Neese), who has a fine singing voice and whom she describes as being “a member of the family.” But he knows he cannot satisfy his employer romantically, as his affections swing in another direction. So who is left to give Edith the attention she desperately wants and needs?

In the second act, which takes place in 1973, we see how the elderly Edith (Kim Buck) intentionally keeps her unmarried middle-aged daughter (Kimmeth) close to her in her old age. Inasmuch as “Little” Edie hates her mother, she must now rely on her mother’s money for financial support, and thus she feels duty-bound to stay at home and take care of her. Unfortunately, when “Little” Edie caves in to her mother’s wishes, she not only sacrifices her ambitions for career and marriage but also her mental health. Upset with her existential condition and suffering from agoraphobia, “Little” Edie lets the world surrounding her shrink in various ways—and she exhibits her depression by neglecting and trashing the once lovely mansion. Now the deteriorating property becomes a blight on the neighborhood, and its reclusive occupants find themselves living in squalor and unsanitary conditions, together with their 52 cats.

Scenic design is first-rate, thanks to the fine work of Brandii Champagne. The mobile units that make up the mansion’s exterior and garden make for efficient set changes. Together with prop design by Al Joritz, the luxurious living room in the first act imparts a sense of wealth and privilege as contrasted with the unkempt bedroom in the second act, which reveals greyness and shabbiness. Sound design by Kody Burkemper is good; the sound effect of the haunting meows of cats adds to the specter of decline on a visceral level. Lighting by Alec Kinastowski is nicely done. Costume design by Martha Shuford is especially notable in depicting styles from the two different eras. I loved the sleek Venetian red gown worn by Kimmeth which, at once, conveys passion, anger, sensuality, vitality, and power. Hair and wig design by Roberto Puig is true to both men’s and women’s styles in the various time periods. Other actors in the show include: Kevin T. Kirkpatrick as J.V. “Major” Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale, Lewis R. Jones as Brooks Sr. and Jr., Emily Thornton as Jacqueline “Jackie” Bouvier, and Sophie Tucker as Lee Bouvier.

The best parts of the performance have to do with the music and the singing and how well we see Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter “Little” Edie Beale play against each other. But when the second act is a fairly constant drumbeat featuring depression, feebleness, and kvetching, the audience soon loses interest. This makes the ending not as meaningful as it otherwise might have been. For those who have ever cared for an elderly or ailing relative or friend, we quickly get the picture about an individual’s impaired cognition, stubbornness, and persnicketiness. Superfluous and superficial dialogue, especially with secondary characters (like the bit about cooking corn), makes the story unnecessarily long.

The script could easily be cut and adapted into a one-act production, such that Act 1 could be retained almost in its entirely and the prologue and Act 2 could be trimmed and merged with the rest. This would make the story sharper and more meaningful. The consolidation would work particularly well for younger audience members who are as yet unfamiliar with a social set that a previous generation would have grown up with. So while the show is meant, in part, to be an exposé of the lives of “the rich and famous”, this objective doesn’t work so well today. These well-heeled people from a bygone era no longer evoke the same curiosity and interest as they once might have. A revised script would focus less on detailing the characters’ fall from their earlier fame, fortune and celebrity and more on rendering a fascinating psychological portrait. This would make the presentation less dated and more relevant to the current era and beyond.

“Grey Gardens” is playing through January 28, 2024, at Prairie Lakes Theater, 515 E. Thacker Street, Des Plaines, Illinois.

Tickets are $35 – Adults
$30 – Seniors (65+)
$30 – Students
$25 – Children (12 and under)

Performance schedule:
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 2:00 p.m.

For more information about this show, visit: https://bignoise.org/shows/2024/grey-gardens and for general information about ticketing, go to: https://bignoise.org/tickets/buy.

To purchase tickets:
Click on https://ci.ovationtix.com/2612/production/1175001, or
Phone the box office at 847-220-7268 and leave a message with your name, phone, name of show, date of performance, and number of tickets. “Confirmation of phone orders received is only possible for reservations made four hours before the performance”, or
Visit the box office at 515 E. Thacker Street, Des Plaines, an hour prior to the performance.

For general information about Big Noise Theatre and to learn about their other offerings, go to https://bignoise.org/.

Note: To check if your ticketed performance is affected by inclement weather call 847-220-7268 and listen to the greeting.

To see what others are saying, visit  www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Grey Gardens”.