More than 30 years have passed since the eye-opening documentary Grey Gardens illuminated the sordid lives of former New York socialites Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Little Edie. What made the story so fascinating was that these women, once the toast of East Hampton, were the aunt and first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her sister Lee Radziwill, and ended up living in abject poverty and squalor in their 28-room East Hampton mansion.
Grey Gardens has become a cult classic and in 2006 the first-ever stage adaptation of a documentary premiered on Broadway. The production, starring Christine Ebersole -- both as a young Edith in the first act set in 1941 and as Little Edie in the second act set in 1973 -- was nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2006 and won three, including best actress nods for Ebersole and her co-star Mary Louise Wilson, who played the older Edith in the 1973 segment of the play.
The show closed in July 2007 and composer Scott Frankel said there would be no national touring production of the musical, much to the dismay of many fans of the Beales. However, the show has been brought to life in the Chicago area and is worth writing about. The production captures the life and tribulations of the Beales. The first act tells the backstory set around Little Edie's engagement party at Grey Gardens to Joseph Kennedy, Jr. before it is called off, forcing Little Edie to flee to Manhattan, leaving her mother alone.
The second act is where fans of the documentary will recognize the erratic and often hilarious behavior of the mother and daughter team. Jeff Award-winner Hollis Resnick plays both Edith (in 1941) and Little Edie (in 1973) to acclaim. She embodies the eccentricities of both, but nails the older Little Edie -- her mannerisms, her speech, her dancing and flitting about. But she -- and the production -- really captures the sad story that surrounded these tragic, if not liberated and independent, women.
Little Edie had big dreams that were never realized and her mother had a certain power over her that disallowed her from ever really becoming something. Their love for each other was what kept them forever hinged, but it was Edith's eventual death in 1977 that finally set Little Edie free. But before then -- and when the story initially broke in the New York press in 1971 about their decrepit living conditions -- the two had a reclusive life. Some called them insane. Others canonized them, especially Little Edie for her fashion and grandiose statements.
Truthfully, it's a sad story of fear, loneliness and unrealized dreams. Watching the stage production (or the documentary for that matter) is heartbreaking. To see these once beautiful women accepted by society drift into a life of filth surrounded by cats, raccoons and fleas is difficult to watch. But at the same time you question whether they're discontented or truly happy in their insanity -- and if they are even actually insane.
This production shows that Grey Gardens should not be swept under the rug and this show should not be overlooked just because it's being staged in the suburbs. If you are a fan of the theater and a follower of "Grey Gardens" you would be remiss to not get tickets in the next few weeks. You owe it to Edith and Little Edie. You owe it to yourself.
Grey Gardens runs through Dec. 28 at the Northlight Theatre in Skokie, Ill.