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Grey Gardens

DIRECTED BY : DONOVAN RICE

SHOW DATES: May 6,7,13,14,20 and 21st at 7:30 p.m.

                           Sunday Matinee May 15th at 2:30 p.m.

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About the Musical

This biographical play tells about two women with the same name – Edith Bouvier Beale. Mother and daughter, who are relatives of the US’s First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, full of aristocratic gloss. Talented and beautiful, they live in luxury and are confident that they will lead a well-fed and bright life. Elder Edith has an amazing voice, but because of the domineering husband, could not realize her dreams. The younger has tremendous acting talent, she just has to show her. And it would seem, what there can be so difficult in it? She is young, beautiful and full of vitality. All the big city and even more may lie at her feet!

 

The family moved to the estate named "Grey Gardens". Mother is happy, because that is where she can be glad and do her life's work: to sing. At receptions or just in a spare time, she has the opportunity to enjoy own voice and to amaze others with it. Her lover, a young pianist, helps her in this dream to come true.

 

But a Little Edith is unhappy about it, because she has came far away from New York City now and her future career as an actress. Her father forbidding her to think of this career. He wants to exhort all sorts of nonsense from her head, inspired by the thoughtless behavior of the mother, which forces her to settle down and to find a husband.

 

But time passes and the crisis forced to cut expenses, on which the older Edith only shrugs from her husband, as an annoying fly, continuing to lead an idle way of life in the Garden with her lover, while her husband is at work. This cannot but lead to nothing but to a serious conflict and, eventually, to divorce.

 

Mrs. Beale’s frivolous attitude to life forces Mr. Beale to take his daughter from mother to New York to raise her at his own and to drive off a young head irrelevant thoughts of bohemian future, which is unworthy of a girl of her position and education.

 

But younger Edith sees is this only an opportunity to escape from the Grey Gardens, towards New York and glory. She participates in fashion shows, cabaret acts and one day receives an invitation to audition on Broadway by a director, and, at the same time, receives the attention of the powerful man who becomes her lover. He is married, rich, and makes Edith luxurious gifts. Naive girl falls in love with a man, but as we are shown further, for nothing.

 

Elder Edith, vegetating in Grey Gardens alone in looking for ways to return the daughter, once learns about her relationship with an adult man. Thus, the father learns of the affair of a daughter with a married and takes her back to her mother, in order not to let it continue.

 

Little Edie stubbornly finds a way to come back to New York and comes to visit her lover one day before the show on Broadway, which abandons a credulous girl in this same meeting. She was not able to cope with the emotions and loss, and because of the stress, she begins to lose hair. Edith remains in Grey Gardens, having lost confidence and faith in herself. Infantile older Edith does not give a chance to younger Edith to return to a normal life, trying to persuade to stay with her forever in the Gardens.

 

Thus forty years have passed. Women did not have enough funds to keep the estate, and because of this, this entire place has turned into only miserable memories of luxury and wealth. Grey Gardens thoroughly imbued with the spirit of despair, loneliness, unfulfilled hopes and cat urine. Nothing in this place says that here live aristocrats, preserved only pride, not asking for help. Forgotten by all.

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