Variety reports that Drew Barrymore will play
"Little Edie" Beale and Jessica Lange her mother, "Big
Edie" Bouvier Beale, in a new drama based on the eccentric
socialites immortalized in the gay cult fave
documentary Grey Gardens. Written and directed
by first-timer Michael Sucsy, this new
film--also titled Grey Gardens--will
cover 40 years of their lives, and other characters
will include Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ben Bradlee,
and Sally Quinn. (The latter two bought the crumbling
Grey Gardens mansion from Little Edie after Big Edie's
death.) The Beales became infamous when the local
health department threatened to evict them from their
estate in East Hampton, N.Y. After the intervention of
Onassis, a cousin of Big Edie, the Beales continued to live
there and were eventually the subject of David and
Albert Maysles's legendary 1975 documentary. A new
musical about the Beales--also titled Grey
Gardens and featuring a book by gay playwright
Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife)--is
currently in previews off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons.
(Advocate.com)
