The Tony Award winning Grey Gardens is being produced by HBO as a feature starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, originally based on the 1975 documentary about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' eccentric cousin and aunt. The project has been in the works since 2006, though HBO was not involved at that time. Albert and David Maysles' documentary follows the relationship between the mother-daughter duo of ''Big Edie'' (Lange) and ''Little Edie'' Beale (Barrymore), who spent most of their lives in a decaying mansion known as Grey Gardens on New York's Long Island.
The two made national headlines in 1971 when the local health department raided the home and found more than 50 cats, raccoons, fleas, piles of garbage, human and cat excrement, and no heat or running water. The department was going to kick the pair out of the 28-room mansion until Kennedy Onassis stepped in and paid to help clean it up. In spring 2006, Grey Gardens opened as a musical at Playwright Horizons before moving to Broadway in November at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
The play was a hit, and the performances were fantastic (according to my sources who saw it). Jessica Lange is a fantastic choice, but we shall see about Drew. Never lived up to the thespian we thought she could be. Although the idea of a these two women excreting in the corner of a run down mansion repulses me, and at the same time makes me very curious.
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