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Grey Gardens: The Musical

Grey Gardens was a 1976 documentary about two women who lived at Grey Gardens, an old 28 room mansion in the wealthy Georgica Pond neighborhood in East Hampton, New York. The two women, Big and Little Edie Beale, the aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis, lived in isolation and squalor at Grey Gardens. Their story was first highlighted in 1972 in the National Enquirer along with a series of raids by the Suffolk county health department. The two women lived in the house for nearly fifty years, and it wasn't until the publicity that Jackie Onassis and her sister finally donated funds to have the house and its grounds repaired. Grey Gardens got its name from the grey colored dunes, the cement exterior as well as the hazy mist that surrounds the grounds. It has since been renovated and is occupied eleven months out of the year by Frances Howard, a philanthropist.

The Beales

Big Edie Beale died in 1977, and Little Edie Beale sold Grey Gardens to former Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee and his wife Sally Quinn, in 1979, who completely restored the lands according to a 2003 article in Town & Country. Frances Howard, a famous philanthropist, rents the home from the Bradlees and resides there for most of the year. Since the documentary titled Grey Gardens, there have been several adaptations, including a Broadway musical.

The House

The house at Grey Gardens is a traditional shingled cottage. It was designed by Joseph Thorpe in 1897 and was completed a few years later. The reason Grey Gardens was such a national spectacle was because the two women were almost considered royalty, yet they were living in filth. The Suffolk County Health Department tried to evict them several times because they didn't keep the grounds up and they failed to live up to sanitation codes.

The documentary Grey Gardens premiered at the New York Film Festival in 1975, and was widely acclaimed. In 2006, it became a popular Broadway musical that won several awards and received many nominations. Also, a feature film of Grey Gardens is being planned starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, which proves that even though the Beales are no longer with us, their story and the story of Grey Gardens continues to live on. There are many websites and books and other materials based on the gardens and the story still holds a special place in the hearts of many.

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