Would that wishing made it so.
The line comes from Troy Patterson’s review of HBO’s Grey Gardens, starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange in the movie telling the story of the 1975 cult documentary of the same name:
But really the great bad luck of the Edith Bouvier Beales was to arrive before their time, to antecede reality television.
Although he referred to the 2006 musical of the same name as an “off-Broadway” production, and although it began as such, the show was staged quite successfully on Broadway (and I saw it in its last week). It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical, and both Christine Ebersole and Mary-Louise Wilson won the Tony for their leading and supporting roles, respectively.
Of HBO’s production, Patterson writes:
A different kind of film would signal Big Edie’s irretrievable descent into battiness with a scene of her drinking before cocktail hour. Here, the pivotal moment comes when she switches from a highball glass to a pickling jar.
The documentary is a classic train-wreck, the musical was fantastic, and it would appear that HBO has succeeded in its effort. I can’t wait to see it.
For some Sunday fun, here’s Christine Ebersole, with an intro from Patrick Wilson, at the performing at the Tony Awards in 2007.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgOQZpMD0fE]
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found