Entering Grey Gardens (Edie!)
Finally convinced Greg to go see Grey Gardens tonite. I'd obsessed over the documentary for years, and loved the music from the show, and...
How or why I convinced him to go... that's not important. He agreed to go, and I was glad, and we both enjoyed it, that's the main thing.
And, oddly enough, John Lithgow was there, looking very John Lithgowy, and I wanted to shout, 'Hey, Roberta Muldoon!' but resisted. I wonder if he even remembers that role?
Also wonder if he was there discussing a film version of the musical. I mean, it's been running for a while--unless he's either in love with the show or doing a cast member, why else would he be there?
The show hit both Greg and I pretty hard.
Eh, not really. The show seemed to get mixed reviews from both of us: Greg hated the first act, and I conceded that the first act wasn't edge-of-your-seat, must-see theatre. Tho, to be honest, I think the staging of the first act causes more problems that its content. Christine Ebersole is great and dynamic and... does a nice off-stage shout-out to her 'Amadeus' character...whatever; not even Ethel Merman coulda carried that first act on her shoulders without some stage magic. I mean, the music does what it needs to do, and the performers do what they need to, so why doesn't the lighting, the set, and the blocking manage to do something? Fine, I get it; claustrophobia, stagnation, empty, shallow lives... that's all well and good, but those ideas are conveyed to us in the first 10 mins, and then brought up again and again in the lyrics. Claustrophobia. Stagnation. Emptiness. Can't we have a few 'wow' moments? Wow moments that don't depend on Ebersole and her kimono?
Whatever. The second act showed where all the money went.
The Norman Vincent Peale scene, which, in the documentary was haunting and focused mostly on Big Edie, became Little Edie's delicate moment in the musical, and the 'Around the World' song was heartbreaking.
To me, the first act is Big Edie's tragedy, and the second is Little Edie's tragedy. They are the culmination of tragedy, both of them: they never had a chance. Big Edie was too dependently independent, while Little Edie was too independently dependent. As Big E says, you can't have freedom while being dependent on others, and as Little E retorts, you can't be independent without support.
And you can't be Paris Hilton without a needful enabler.
Greg and I are still negotiating our adult relationships with our parents. It gave us a lot to think about, this musical, this documentary.
How or why I convinced him to go... that's not important. He agreed to go, and I was glad, and we both enjoyed it, that's the main thing.
And, oddly enough, John Lithgow was there, looking very John Lithgowy, and I wanted to shout, 'Hey, Roberta Muldoon!' but resisted. I wonder if he even remembers that role?
Also wonder if he was there discussing a film version of the musical. I mean, it's been running for a while--unless he's either in love with the show or doing a cast member, why else would he be there?
The show hit both Greg and I pretty hard.
Eh, not really. The show seemed to get mixed reviews from both of us: Greg hated the first act, and I conceded that the first act wasn't edge-of-your-seat, must-see theatre. Tho, to be honest, I think the staging of the first act causes more problems that its content. Christine Ebersole is great and dynamic and... does a nice off-stage shout-out to her 'Amadeus' character...whatever; not even Ethel Merman coulda carried that first act on her shoulders without some stage magic. I mean, the music does what it needs to do, and the performers do what they need to, so why doesn't the lighting, the set, and the blocking manage to do something? Fine, I get it; claustrophobia, stagnation, empty, shallow lives... that's all well and good, but those ideas are conveyed to us in the first 10 mins, and then brought up again and again in the lyrics. Claustrophobia. Stagnation. Emptiness. Can't we have a few 'wow' moments? Wow moments that don't depend on Ebersole and her kimono?
Whatever. The second act showed where all the money went.
The Norman Vincent Peale scene, which, in the documentary was haunting and focused mostly on Big Edie, became Little Edie's delicate moment in the musical, and the 'Around the World' song was heartbreaking.
To me, the first act is Big Edie's tragedy, and the second is Little Edie's tragedy. They are the culmination of tragedy, both of them: they never had a chance. Big Edie was too dependently independent, while Little Edie was too independently dependent. As Big E says, you can't have freedom while being dependent on others, and as Little E retorts, you can't be independent without support.
And you can't be Paris Hilton without a needful enabler.
Greg and I are still negotiating our adult relationships with our parents. It gave us a lot to think about, this musical, this documentary.