Cult musical 'Grey Gardens' opens at Triple Locks Theater

COSHOCTON — A cult documentary turned unique musical showcasing an unusual slice of recent U.S. history is opening at the Triple Locks Theater.

The Coshocton Footlight Theaters will present "Grey Gardens" at 7:30 p.m. May 6 to 7, 13 to 14 and 20 to 21 and 2:30 p.m. May 15. It's directed by Donovan Rice with Jane Crow as musical director. The show is using a live orchestra.

"Grey Gardens" is a 1975 documentary on a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, referred to as Big Edie and Little Edie. They were once upper-class, but now live in poverty in a derelict mansion named Grey Gardens. They were related to former first lady Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis and had other connections to the storied Kennedy family. A feature film of the story was made by HBO in 2009.

The stage musical is from 2006 and received 10 Tony Award nominations. Wins were for best costume design in a musical, best lead actress in a musical for Christine Ebersol and best featured actress in a musical for Mary Louise Wilson.

Rice, helming a play for the first time, said he choose the musical after hearing the song "Will You." He also has a love for older homes, which Grey Gardens is centered around. The mansion is shown in its full splendor in the first act set in 1941, then rundown in the second act set in 1973.

"While it's a small cast, it was incredibly difficult to cast because of the age ranges and they're real people. They have to resemble the real people, somewhat," Rice said.

Angie Speicher plays the older version of Big Edie. She admits the show might not be well known to the general public, but it has quite a following and a history of accolades. She's said many in the community are interested in seeing it, with some saying they're doing research on the story before coming and others saying they just want to go in cold. Speicher called it a "riches to rags" tale and a "fairytale told in reverse."

"It's got so many layers. It's just so intriguing," Speicher said. "It's a deep, deep love story. Many people look at this story and feel the two women hated each other, but that's not true. They bickered, but that was just part of who they were."

Michelle Kittel is the older version of Little Edie and the younger version of Big Edie. Her real life daughter, Amanda Kittel, plays younger Little Edie. Her favorite tune is "Peas in a Pod," a duet between mother and daughter.

"It spoke to me. It's an American story. It's Camelot and what happens behind that curtain we don't see and we don't talk about," Michelle said, referencing the nickname for the JFK administration. "What people will see, I think everyone will resonate with it in some way."

Nick Fischer plays two characters. He's Major J.V. Bouvier, the father of Big Edie and grandfather of Little Edie, and author Norman Vincent Peale. He calls the play hilarious and heartbreaking. He said the story attracted him to it, along with being part of Rice's directing debut. Fischer describes the Major as staunch, a word used often in the play.

"He's a good guy that loves his family. He has some favorites," Fischer said. "I don't know if he's sympathetic, but I think the audience will enjoy his character."

Heath Chaney plays George Gould Strong, a songwriter who works for Big Edie. She aspires to be a singer while Little Edie wants to be an actress. Chaney grew attached to Strong after researching the show and was happy to land the part. His favorite tune is "Another Winter in a Summer Town."

"Anyone who comes will find someone on the stage playing a character they can relate to. They're going to find people who are drawn from real life inspiration," Chaney said. "Everyone can relate to or knows someone in their life who kind of struggles with these issues and it's important to see that on the stage, bring some visibility to some of the things discussed in the show and themes, like mental illness."

Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for students. Go to footlightplayers.com for more information and tickets or call 740-622-2959. An opening night reception is at 6:30 p.m. May 6.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with close to 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Cult musical 'Grey Gardens' opens at Triple Locks Theater