More than 40 years after the release of the Maysles brothers' documentary Grey Gardens, the bizarre saga of Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, who lived in isolation in a derelict Hamptons mansion, continues to be a source of fascination. In the past decade, the documentary has become a fictionalized film, a Broadway musical, and was extensively parodied by the humor show Documentary Now.
The story of the Beales has captivated and inspired Joshua Grannell, a.k.a. Peaches Christ, for many years. Tomorrow, October 8th, he'll take to the stage of the Castro Theatre for a stage tribute to the mother-daughter duo. Grannell describes his new show, Return to Return to Grey Gardens, as a "fully realized stage show," which runs for 90 minutes. (A screening of the original Grey Gardens film will follow.)
Once wealthy, glamorous socialites, the Beales were captured by the Maysles as living in squalor in their garbage-strewn family manor. They first caught the public's attention when they were ordered by the Department of Health to clean their house up or face eviction, and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, a relative they hadn't seen in years, stepped up to the plate and picked up the cleaning tab. Jackie O was reportedly shocked when she saw the filth the two women were wallowing in.
Strange but strong-minded, the Beales lived in a world of their own creation, one that resonated strongly with many gay people. "I think that both women are strong, smart, eccentric, staunch characters that many queer people can identify with," Grannell said. "They've felt mistreated by society and are misunderstood, yet continue to be survivors living in tough conditions with humor, style, and grace."
The show, which also features drag stars Jinkx Monsoon and Mink Stole, "is set 40 years into the future, and the premise is that Jinkx and I have been doing the same Grey Gardens parody for 40 years," Grannell explains. "The audiences are gone, the theater is falling apart and infested with feral cats and raccoons, and the Castro Merchants Association is trying to evict us."
After Saturday's event (which includes an after-party at Beaux hosted by Lady Bear and Laundra Tyme), Grannell and his cast plan to take the show on the road. They already performed it in Seattle in September, and will take it to the UK for shows in Manchester and London later this month.
"I'd say that SF is still the best audience in the world," Grannell said. "I hope that doesn't change, because it's nice to always feel like your best audience is your home audience. But I will say that now that we regularly bring shows to Seattle, L.A., and New York, that those audiences are getting really great as well."
Grannell never met either Beale—Big Edie passed away soon after the film was made, while Little Edie died in 2002. But he did meet their friend and handyman Jerry Torre, featured in the film, when Torre came to see one of his past Grey Gardens shows. "He came backstage and told me 'Mrs. Beale would have loved your show,' which meant the world to me," Grannell said.
"Some audiences watch the documentary for the 'freak show' factor and sorta snicker at it, like it's an episode of Hoarders," he said. "But for those of us who've watched it repeatedly, year after year, it's because we love these women, we identify with them and find inspiration from them. There's a connection there."
