Tony Tuesday: Grey Gardens

Today we’re going back to the mid noughties for some unique and individual musical theatre. Today’s TONY Tuesday is:

“The Revolutionary Costume For Today” from Grey Gardens at the 2007 TONY awards ceremony.

Grey Gardens is a 2006 musical based upon the documentary of the same name, which tells the story of Big and Little Edie Bouvier Beale, a mother and daughter who lived in their decaying mansion: Grey Gardens in the East Hamptons. The Beales were the Aunt and cousin of Jackie Kennedy and the documentary, and in turn the musical, charters their fall from rich socialites to their eventual isolation and the dilapidation of Grey Gardens becoming overrun by cats, raccoons and breaking multiple health code violations. Grey Gardens marked the first time a Broadway musical had ever been based on a documentary.  The first act displays the women in their glory days and is a speculative and largely fictionalised take on what their lives probably would have been like. The second act, however, is largely adapted and reflective of the original documentary. Due to the jump in time from first to second act, the actor who plays Big Edie in the first, is then required to play Little Edie in the second. 

The score was written by Scott Frankel & Michael Korie and had a book by Doug Wright. The musical had direction by Michael Greif, choreography by Jeff Calhoun, scenic design by Allen Moyer, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski and orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin, originally opening at the Playwrights Horizons for a two and a half month run in 2006. The original cast included Christine Ebersole as Big/Little Edie, Mary Louise Wilson as Big Edie, John McMartin as JV Bouvier/Norman Vincent Peale and Sarah Hyland as Jaqueline Bouvier (Jackie Kennedy). The production was received well Off-Broadway with Ebersole winning a slew of awards for her dual role of both Edies. 

The show was then revised and moved to Broadway with a few cast replacements and opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre for previews from 2 November 2006. The show was praised by critics, being credited as the number one musical of 2006 and Frankel and Korie’s score being praised on par with the work of Sondheim. The show was nominated for 10 2007 TONY awards, ultimately winning three with Ebersole and Young both winning for their performances. A documentary, “From East Hampton to Broadway”, was also released in 2007 at the Hamptons Film Festival and later aired on PBS.

The show never toured the US but was produced regionally, most notably in 2015 in New York and again in Los Angeles in 2016. Both productions were directed by Michael Wilson and starred Rachel York as Big/Little Edie and Betty Buckley as Big Edie. The UK premiere also took place in 2016 at the Southwark Playhouse, directed by Thom Southerland and starring Sheila Hancock as Big Edie and Jenna Russell as Big/Little Edie. 

Besties, if you haven’t listened to this show I suggest you should. The score is an absolute buffet of musical theatre sophistication.

Cast recordings available on Spotify and Apple Music. 

FACTS:

Music: Scott Frankel
Lyrics: Michael Korie
Book: Doug Wright
Theatre: The Walter Kerr Theatre
Run: 2 November 2006 – 29 July 2009 (33 previews, 307 regular performances)

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical – Doug Wright, Best Original Score – Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, Best Direction of a Musical – Michael Greif, Best Orchestrations – Bruce Coughlin, Best Scenic Design of a Musical – Allen Moyer, Best Lighting Design of a Musical – Peter Kaczorowski. 

(WON) Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Christine Ebersole, Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical – Mary Louise Young, Best Costume Design in a Musical – William Ivey Long