LA may slow down in the summer, but it sure ain’t boring.  This past week, we had the Dreamgirls reunion (with exclusive and extensive footage on BillyMasters.com), Diane Ross at the Hollywood Bowl, and Broadway royalty at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  That last bit was when the Ahmanson Theatre hosted the national tour of Grey Gardens starring Rachel York and Betty Buckley.  The highlight of the evening happened before the show even started.  As the lights dimmed, in scurried Angela Lansbury – well, as much as a 90-year-old can scurry!  Some people noticed and applauded, but then the pre-show announcement was made.  You know – the one about no taking of photos, silencing your cell phones, unwrapping your candy.  Except the person making the announcement was Angela Lansbury – who starred in Blithe Spirit in the same theatre last year.  After the pre-recorded speech ended, the audience started applauding.  I said, “Wouldn’t it be great if…wait – she’s up!”  Yes, Lansbury got out of her seat, bowed, and got a standing ovation!  Certainly a special moment (which we caught on camera, of course).

As to the show, I’ve always felt this is not a musical – it’s a play with music.  What I mean is that the score, while having moments, is really secondary to the script.  I think it’s terribly unfair to compare performers, but this is a show created for Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson.  That said, shows are not museum pieces – they have to live and breath and be re-created, re-interpretted.  And this new duo is quite game.  York is a gifted singer, but she’s not in Ebersole’s league acting-wise.  However, she was quite successful in the first act, which was a much more natural fit.  And I must mention that when her prop magnifying glass literally fell apart, she handled it with aplomb.  Buckley made many curious choices and played the part with more energy and shtick than Wilson – who was truer to the real person (as captured in the documentary).  The biggest misstep in this production is the set.  While the idea of incorporating video and making the second act a living documentary is inspired, the set is far too grand and spacious to ever feel claustrophobic.  An unintentionally great moment occurs when the ladies take their bows.  Buckley walks down a large, sweeping staircase – eerily echoing her turn in Sunset Boulevard.  I loved it, but the last thing you want to do leaving a show is be reminded of another show.