I cannot express how much I adore, admire, am inspired, motivated by Christine Ebersole. She is superlative.
***This is a journal entry I wrote last year on the 22nd of April, the day after I saw the show (as you will witness, I was still very high on the show and The Ebersole):Wonderful show. I loved the 2nd act much more than the first. It’s stronger. Very strong. The Ebersole is magnificent. Mary Louise Parker is great. Together their dynamite. I don’t know what it is about mother-daughter relationships in shows that hits just the right spot in me. Same thing with, “Caroline, or Change” and “The Light in the Piazza.” Something about that particular relationship resonates well within me. Funny, I thought of Elsy and Arpine while watching the show. I didn’t think that the 1st act sucked or anything. I just think the second is stronger. Which I’d rather have because I don’t want the show to end on some sour note. I liked the 1st act. Sarah Gettelfinger was good. I did enjoy her. She was in and out for me. But never to the point where I hated her. She is so lucky with this show. I think that she’s probably grown the most doing this show with such wonderfully talented women. The show is witty and heartbreaking. The Ebersole just kicks it outta Playwrights Horizon. She really does. She got me. I loved her when she did her cabaret at OCPAC…this show makes me love her even more. She is stunning. Beautiful. This show is my, “Light in the Piazza,” of last year which was my, “Caroline, or Change,” of the previous year. *le whew* I CANNOT WAIT to get the recording! I’m so happy that they’ll be recording the show. I believe on the 27th is when they’ll record! CAN.NOT.WAIT. I liked Sarah. She had strong points. She’s got a great voice. I don’t know if this is the right word but the Edies relationship was volatile. God! The end. The end after The Ebersole finishes singing and Mary calls out for her daughter. I mean, she is going to leave. She’s going. And there’s all the intake of the WHOLE WORLD that The Ebersole takes. What an effort for her to get out the words (after a long long silence), “Coming. (long pause) Mother Darling.” I think it was, Mother Darling, she said. Damn! Why did I forget? Damn damn damn! Total heartbreak. You see that she wants to leave. She wants to get out of Grey Gardens. But she doesn’t because of her mother. Because it’s as if they cannot live without each other. Physically. Literally. The dramatic scenes were so explosive (whether it was a kind of silent tension or an actual blow-up). The comedic stuff was so sharp and crisp. So damn strong. I thought to myself, “Man, I’ve got to make the Shakespeare Lab, now,” while I was watching The Ebersole. I just thought that. One of the saddest lines in the play was said by Big Edie’s father, something about an actress without the audience being the worst. Something like that. Ouch! I was so lucky to have gotten a ticket to the show. So über-lucky, boy! I was almost late, too! Dang! I missed the R right when I came down, I should have just ran for it. So, I waited and waited for the next R to arrive. It came and it seemed like forever to hit 42nd St. I was out around 7.47. I JETTED my ass over to the theater. I mean, juh-heh-ted! Seriously. I ran like 95% of the way! I had 5 minutes before the clock struck 8p and I still had to pick my ticket up! But, I made it! It’s a small theater. I like the space because it’s so intimate. Great space. The Ebersole and Mary are so precise. The Ebersole and her extreme talent makes me want to get up on the stage with her and just soak up what she has to offer. Seriously. I would be watching her from the wings EVERY NIGHT! I feel the same about Victoria Clark, Tonya Pinkins, Andreas… *le whew* She is a powerhouse. I saw her after the show and was so dorky and just told her that I thought she was beautiful. God. Somebody should have shot me. I should have just walked away not saying anything to her. I also told her that I had met her when she did her cabaret and she asked if I was visiting and I told her that I actually auditioned for The Public Theater Shakespeare Lab. She’s just awesome. I love her. And the first song she sings on her 2nd album, “Fine and Dandy,” has been in my head practically the whole day! Why? I don’t know. The costumes were delicious and the 2nd act costumes of Little Edie’s were ridiculously funny, yet quite clever in a free-spirited, forward-thinking kind of a way! I mean, wearing the skirt upside-down, piling scarves on top of her head, tying them around her waist, wearing her cardigans backwards and wrapping them round back to the front…I mean…it was great! I loved it.
I wanted to wait for The Ebersole and then I didn’t want to because I was just gonna be a dork in front of her. But since I was there and the actors were all coming out of the entrance………………….well, I just tried getting a hold of my best friends that don’t pick up their phones on Friday nights (apparently!)……………and I was standing there anyway and if The Ebersole was gonna come out that way………………I don’t know why I stayed.
Decay.
So…The Ebersole was coming on out while I was leaving a voicemail for Serein. I waited for her and was such a super dork! Oh, well. I just think she’s fantastic. Man! I can’t imagine anyone else in that show that could make it even half of what she made it. Really. Awesome.
I wrote, “Decay,” because that’s the word that fits the physical-world of the show. DECAY.
So, that's what I thought of that! Ha!
I saw the musical before ever watching the Maysles' documentary. I am very glad that I did. Everything was a surprise to me. It was new. I didn't have the world of the documentary over my shoulder/in my head. I didn't know whether or not Little Edie was going to leave. I loved not knowing. It was much more alive in retrospect than if I had seen the documentary beforehand. So, I came into that theatre with the freshest of eyes and came out with eyes shining because of the Niagara Falls of tears that had ensued from my ducts.
I simply cannot get over how amazifying she is.
If you are in the NY area, or will be in the coming weeks before July 29th, head over to the Walter Kerr Theatre on W 48th St. It closes on the 29th.If you live in London OR will be visiting, The Ebersole will be crossing the Atlantic to put the show up there (I'm not sure about the dates). There is also a tour in works. Hm...I wonder who will be in it?
I mean, if you want to see brilliance walking, get your ass over to that theatre! I promise you, you won't regret that night in the theatre.
