Grey Gardens, Southwark Playhouse

Grey Gardens is one of my favourite musicals and some years ago I "dreamcasted" Jenna Russell as Edie/Edith - so you can imagine my joy when they announced the production. Tonight I saw it for the second time and I totally loved it, especially the second act. The audience was on fire and Jenna's "Revolutionary Costume for Today' got a very long round of applauses and bravos! Sheila was in particularly fine voice tonight and got very flirtatious at the beginning of "Jerry Likes My Corn" (I didn't notice the first time!). I think there are a couple of tacky directorial decisions (like throwing leaves during "Another Winter in a Summer Town"), but overall I enjoyed it even more than the first time. I don't like Sheila walking around and even dancing a little (especially since she's clearly described as "bedridden"), but it's hardly her fault, it's a choice of the director.

btw, I was sitting next to the mother of the young actress who play Jacqueline Bouvier and we chatted a bit about the rehearsals, auditions, how this kind of commitment is for the family and for the child. She told me she was a bit worried at the beginning but they told her that Sheila can be nasty, but her daughter's experience with her has been lovely so far!

As you walk in, with your back to the entrance, go for the aisle seats between the left side block and centre block, 2 or 3 rows back

Of course she might have come over there as she liked the look of me

Wowsers this was excellent

By setting the whole thing in rotting house it had so much more impact than broadway. also it wasn't all played for laughs, thankfully!

I thinki preferred Christine Ebersole but again the rest of Southwark trumped Broadway. I adored Rachel Anne Rayham and thought Sheila Hancock was excellent, very moving. I don't get all the negative comments on here about her

The score is beautiful, I'm going to be playing it for months - my poor neighbours! It's mean nasty epublican town ...

Sheila Hancock better than Mary Louise Wilson?  That's a joke right?? 

Saw the matinee yesterday. I loved it but wife didn't get into it at all. Thought the entire cast excellent and enjoyed the score. Also sat in front row - yes the smell of Jerry's corn definitely comes across, especially when sat right next to him when he is eating.

Out of interest, is the 2nd half done in a way that mimics the documentary? Conscious that both leads appeared to be playing to an audience and assumed was based on them being filmed.

I returned to see this for a second time tonight. My first visit was to the first preview and, while I enjoyed it, I found it disorienting because I spent the whole time trying to understand the story.

However, having since seen the documentary, I could now focus on the performances. I'm a big Jenna Russell fan anyway, but she is sensational as Little Edie. She mimics the real Little Edie so well, but doesn't make her a caricature. The whole cast, including Sheila Hancock, were really strong. An emotional story of such a complicated interdependent pair. During "Another Winter in a Summer Town" Jenna had tears in her cheeks.

Sad I missed the boat for tickets for this. If anyone hears of any spares etc...

Todaytix also periodically get tickets for this. You can subscribe for alerts when they become available I think.

Saw this last night... and I *think* I liked it.

Very odd piece, and very much a show of two halves. Honestly, you could probably drop the entire first half, add some more plot to the second half and a couple of flashbacks within that, and you'd have a much better show. I have to admit that I wasn't much of a fan of the funnier scenes in the second half - perhaps because I was expecting it to be more serious and hard-hitting, and wasn't ready for comedy? I don't know... Or perhaps the very 'theatre-diva humour' isn't so much my thing.

I did feel that some of the funnier material in the second half undercut the more serious lines - particularly the argument scenes between the two women, which suddenly (to me) had all the emotion ripped out from under them by a comedy barb from one character or the other. I understand a lot of this is directly lifted from the documentary, but for me it didn't work as part of a musical.

The performances are excellent, of course, and I loved both Sheila Hancock and Jenna Russell - though I think I would have preferred if Jenna Russell were allowed to be less of a caricature, because to me it meant that her accent and way of speaking got in the way of her being able to really stun with the singing.

Very glad I went though. An uneven show with some sparks of brilliance and an absolutely excellent last 20 minutes.

Yes, I wonder what that says about the difference between Broadway and here. People always say Broadway is more cut-throat commercially but, in terms of new musical theatre, that definitely isn't true. That said, I would rather have Grey Gardens in the intimacy of the Southwark Playhouse than lost in a 1000-seat theatre!