Off the Wall Theater, one of Milwaukee’s fringe theater companies, earns applause for tackling a project as complicated as Grey Gardens.This quasi-cult musical is based on the true story of two eccentric women who are related to Jackie Kennedy. This production is delivered with polish and enthusiasm by a talented cast. The actors perform on a tiny stage in this 60-seat theater, accompanied only by an upright piano.
The 2006 musical, originally staged off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizon, transferred to Broadway in late 2006. Nominated for ten Tony Awards, the play earned only three – two of them for the show’s main characters, Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson. Ebersole played both “big” and “little” Edie during different time periods in the show, and Mary Louise Wilson performed as an elderly Edith when the show is set in 1973.
An HBO TV movie was made of the story in 2009 that starred Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. Like the musical, it was based on an earlier, award-winning documentary.
As for the Milwaukee production, theatergoers owe a debt of thanks to producer/director Dale Gutzman. He’s the mastermind who assembled a quality cast of Equity and non-Equity actors to bring this musical to life. Gutzman has been staging Milwaukee theater for several decades in various settings. But even a seasoned producer must have taken pause before launching this major undertaking with only a shoestring budget.
In Off-the-Wall’s intimate setting, one’s imagination is put to good use. With only a few backdrops and props, the audience must mentally recreate a 28-room mansion in East Hampton. In 1941, the beautiful estate attracted the likes of Howard Hughes, the Rockefellers and Gettys.
Sadly, by 1973, the estate had fallen into complete disrepair. The only inhabitants are two reclusive women, 53 cats, fleas and raccoons.
The most entertaining part of Grey Gardens is set in the early 1940s. The stock market is up, and the gin flows freely. However, glimmerings of family dysfunction surface even in this glorious setting. The estate’s hostess, Edith Bouvier Beale, has planned an engagement party for her daughter, Edie. The conflict between of mother and daughter emerge over the elder Edie’s penchant for singing at every possible family gathering.
Little Edie will have none of this at her party, not with the arrival of the Kennedy clan. For her fiancé is none other than Joe Kennedy, Jr. Actor Jeremy C. Welter is picture perfect as Joe, with a “Colgate grin and Dick Tracy chin,” as Little Edie claims. Joe has big hopes for a political future and seeks the social ties that Edie has to offer. All this is revealed in their delightful duet, “Goin’ Places.”
However, despite his good looks and bright future, Kennedy turns out to be a stuffed shirt. While this doesn’t seem to bother the flighty Edie, it is anathema to her mother. After Big Edie reveals one of her daughter’s scandals at the local country club, Kennedy thinks twice about the engagement. Edie tries to win him back by singing, “Daddy’s Girl,” but when Edie’s father makes a major faux pas by skipping the party, it seals the deal. Kennedy bolts like a thoroughbred.
This disaster makes Edie a bit sympathetic as a character. But try as they might, the creators cannot manage much empathy for these woman. Big Edie describes herself as “rich, thin and clever.” The two women could have made a big splash among the upper crust, had they not flaunted convention. Flanked by servants and hangers’ on, it is difficult to feel sorry for women who never worried about working a day in their lives.
Act II is supposed to tell us how these women fell further from grace, but it never really does. The act opens in 1973, with “The Revolutionary Costume for Today.” This song is as sublime as Sondheim. But it still begs the question: how did Little Edie, “the girl who had everything” as her mother stated in 1941, become a middle-aged, paranoid spinster? Why couldn’t she break the mother-daughter bond and make her own future? But just as the musical fails to delve into the mental illness that affected both women, it leaves many of these questions unanswered.
Thankfully, the key role of Edie (who plays both mother and daughter in different eras) is handled by Niffer Clarke. She delivers a Broadway-caliber performance as both a diva and a demented, middle-aged daughter. Clarke’s voice has thrilled audiences in many shows around town, and it certainly is a necessity here. The middle-aged Edie is soft one moment and strident the next. Her songs follow this pattern, as well.
Clarke is every inch a pro. Perhaps her finest moment is one in which she doesn’t sing, or even speak. She is perched as the estate’s gate, wondering whether to stay or to leave. Her face peers out from beneath a shawl that hides her increasing baldness. Which is worse, she seems to be thinking: the love-hate relationship she has with the world, or with her mother?
Also worth noting is Jack Forbes Wilson, who plays the role of foppish, piano-playing George. He adds a tremendous amount of energy to the first act.
The two other Edies are memorable, too. Alexandra Bonesho impresses as Little Edie. She exemplifies to a tee “the girl who has everything” – everything, that is, but a loving family. Bonesho’s outstanding singing and dancing make her worthy competition for her mother.
As the aging Edie, a bedridden Marilyn White can still attract her share of attention. She portrays the frailty of an 80-year-old woman without overdoing it. Rather than rage at the passage of time, White sings a wonderful song, “The Cake I Had.” In it, she reflects on making the best of what she admits was a very fine life.
In the end, Grey Gardens isn’t a musical for everyone. It is more of an acquired taste, such as one might have for oysters or caviar. Both foods would have been typical fare at the estate called “Grey Gardens,” back in the day.
