HOME

In today's pop culture, Grey Gardens is a new HBO flick starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lang. Truth is, there's nothing "new" about Grey Gardens. Although the original documentary filmed in 1975, has had a strong cult following since the start, the interest in this wonderfully touching and quite bizarre story, just keeps on growing !

Philadelphia Musician Robb Brawn and his relationship with Grey Gardens has spanned three decades. Robb first met "Little Edie" Beale, first cousin of former First Lady Jackie Kennedy, at a club in Greenwich Village. "We immediately hit it off. Our first connection was cats. Cats have always been and continue to be a passion. Robb has worked extensively over the years in Philly, donating his time and music to animal causes, especially organizations that provide low cost spay/neuter programs. I went that night to see a campy cult film, but came away with Edie's phone number and the start of a very cool friendship"

"We use to spend hours on the phone. I got to know her very well. As strange as Edie appeared, I found her to be more normal than most. She usually had an opinion on everything and everybody. Even her stories of woe were delivered with the wit of a seasoned stand up comic."

After the phone calls came the long awaited invite to the infamous East Hampton mansion. "It was everything you thought it would be and much more. The first time out there, I got the royal tour. After that, Edie more or less just let me wander around, and I always did.

When Edie found out that I was not only a cat lover, but also a musician, our bond grew even stronger. We even started playing with ideas on teaming up for a cabaret act (heaven help the both of us ! ) Many of my experiences with Edie are highlighted on this web site. Click on "The Real Edie" button to the right for more !

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY'S PRODUCTION OF GREY GARDENS THE MUSICAL COMING SOON. FOR TICKET INFORMATION CLICK THE LINK BELOW. YOU'LL WANT TO GET YOUR TICKETS AS THEY'RE GOING FAST! THE MUSICAL RUNS FROM MAY 22ND UNTIL JUNE 28TH

GREY GARDENS PHILLY

In 2006, I had heard that they were doing a musical adaptation of the Maysles brothers film. My initial reaction was "this is totally impossible !" How could that be done. At first, I had no intention to see it. Then the Tony Award nominations were announced and Grey Gardens got ten ! Christine Ebersole won the Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, Mary Louise Wilson for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Ivy Long for Best Costume Design. When I finally decided to create this web site, I contacted Christine Ebersole with my ideas. Her assistant, Julia Jones contacted me, and arranged the meeting and photo shoot. "Christine was very helpful in helping me realize my vision for this home page by staying in "Edie" costume after a performance. She's a very gracious and sweet lady. Watching her on stage made me feel like I was seeing my old friend again. She captured the true essense of Little Edie, and brought far more to the character than she could have just picked up from the documentary, no matter how many times she'd watched it. She told me she felt she was actually channeling both the Edies. The picture above was taken backstage at the Walter Kerr Theater, just about 3 weeks before the musical's MUCH TOO EARLY closing.

Since meeting Christine, I have been very fortunate of have interviewed Al Maysels, who brought us this wonderful documentary more than 30 years ago, Michael Korie, lyricist for Grey Gardens The Musical, Jerry Torre, and Lois Wright, both of whom appeared in the documentary, and most recently, cast members, directors and musical directors of local productions of the musical. For me, this is a journey that started one night in a tiny club in Greenwich Village, and has some 30 years later proved to be just as interesting now as it was back then. I am so thankful of the time I spent with Edie. Getting to know her, laughing and singing together, hearing her tales of the past, and bashing republicans every chance we got was an experience I will never forget.

This site is dedicated to the two Edies, all the Grey Gardens fans, and especially to the Edie we all have inside of us. We hope your visit to My Grey Gardens will be a pleasant one. Please join our My Grey Gardens family and sign our guestbook and sign up for our mailing list.