Matt Cavenaugh: Joe Jr., Jerry and Me

About the author:
He first won fans as hunky Bud in the short-lived Broadway musical Urban Cowboy, and now Matt Cavenaugh has earned the respect of musical theater lovers for his dual performances as Joe Kennedy Jr. and Jerry Torre in Grey Gardens. In Act One, Cavenaugh plays the careful, cultured golden boy of the Kennedy clan, uneasily engaged to lively Edie Beale of East Hampton. In Act Two, he morphs into a slouching 17-year-old handyman who vainly attempts to help the now-middle-aged Edie and her elderly mother maintain their rotting mansion and overgrown gardens. The 27-year-old actor, an Arkansas native and second oldest in a family of seven children, has amassed impressive theater credits only a few years, including the national tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie and regional productions of Anything Goes, Footloose and Princesses. Broadway.com asked him to comment on the challenge of playing a pair of real people—one iconic and one who was in the audience on opening night at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

I have one of the best jobs on Broadway. I get to play two very different people, both of whom are famous for very different reasons. My journey began in November 2004, when I received an invitation to come to the Sundance Theatre Lab the following month to develop the role of Joe Kennedy Jr. in a new musical called Grey Gardens. At the time, I didn't know anything about Grey Gardens. I wasn't familiar with the documentary. And I didn't know that I would also be developing the role of Jerry Torre, affectionately know as "the Marble Faun."

I say "develop," rather than "perform," because that's the mission of Sundance. There is no pressure to build to a performance; it is strictly a forum to workshop material. In fact, when we arrived, only the first act of the show was written. I was certainly excited, but also a bit intimidated by the caliber of people I would be working with, including Christine Ebersole, Mary Louise Wilson and John McMartin. I remember thinking that I had been invited into the club, but I wasn't quite sure if I belonged. And that's to say nothing about the formidable task of playing a Kennedy!

Whenever I play someone who actually lived, I try to gather as many specifics about his life as possible. The fact that this information might not be written into a scene doesn't mean it can't be present. Luckily, there was a wealth of material available on the Kennedy family. I was familiar with John and Bobby, but I didn't know that much about Joe. It was fascinating to learn about his upbringing, his years at Harvard, his travels overseas and how he was groomed to do great things. Joe was the eldest and favorite son, the star pupil and athlete. He was an intelligent, charming and confident young man. Joe unabashedly stated that he would be the first Catholic president of the United States. I tried to understand not only his ambition, but also the expectations placed on him throughout his short life, which affected me on a deeper and more personal level. It takes a lot of trust in yourself to step into those shoes, especially knowing that everyone has a strong opinion about what makes a Kennedy.

There's also the matter of that famous Kennedy accent. I couldn't find any recordings of Joe Jr. speaking, so I started by listening to recordings of Joe Sr. PBS made a wonderful series on the Kennedy family, and there is some footage from the '30s and '40s in which Joe Sr. addresses the nation on the radio. I made a conscious effort not to imitate John but to allow him to be a guidepost. Strangely enough, one of the more useful tools was a series of recordings by Vaughn Meader, a popular Kennedy impersonator from the '60s. Allowing Kennedy's confidence and directness come through in my speech made a big difference in fully grasping Joe.

Jerry, on the other hand, was a character I approached from the opposite direction. I, like you, first got to know Jerry from the documentary. I saw a young kid who was certainly aware the cameras were rolling but didn't seem to relish in the attention quite like Edie. His warmth and sweet nature also poured through in his genuine affection for Mrs. Beale. The film was a great tool to pick up Jerry's specific mannerisms in speech and body. I definitely got Jerry's outward form first before I started to understand some of the specifics swimming around inside his head.

I love playing Jerry. I love the way he talks; the way he moves. I love seeing the world of Grey Gardens through his eyes. I also love the real Jerry Torre, whom I first met in October 2005 at a workshop of the musical at Playwrights Horizons. He lives here in New York and has seen the show several times; he is a very sweet man who longs to connect with people and seems delighted and moved with our portrayal of him. Jerry first arrived in East Hampton when he took a summer job at the Getty estate nearby. Mostly out of curiosity, he wandered around the Grey Gardens property just to explore. It was then that Edie came down the stairs, opened the screen door and proclaimed, "Oh my God, it's the Marble Faun." It has been a real privilege for me to learn about Jerry's upbringing and adventures after leaving Grey Gardens—a very different experience from Joe's, but no less fascinating.

As an actor, I know how blessed I am to have the opportunity to embody these two men, the polarity of which keeps the show fresh and fun for me every night. It can also frustrate or encourage me on nights when I think I nailed one and sucked at the other! I'm often asked which role I like more, and I can't choose one over the other. Joe is a very direct fella who, at 26, has a clear vision of what he is after. Jerry, only 17, is a little more indirect in his approach to taking comfort in and care of the Beales.

Truthfully, my favorite moments are probably when I'm observing. I have three amazing women that I share most of my time with on stage. I adore the brilliant Erin Davie, and love jousting with her as she tries to convince me that our relationship is worth holding on to in "Daddy's Girl." I can't say enough about Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson. Both have been great leaders, concerned only about with what is best for the show. Jerry has the best seat in the house as Edie performs "The House We Live In." And Big Edie is a pip, and I can't get enough of her "Corn."

Grey Gardens has been an incredibly challenging and rewarding experience on its path to the Walter Kerr Theatre, guided with great skill and care by our creative team. Composer Scott Frankel, lyricist Michael Korie, librettist Doug Wright and director Michael Greif are very gifted storytellers. Every change or rewrite sharpened the story and fleshed out our characters more fully. One example that involved me specifically was the replacement of the song "Better Fall Out of Love" with "Goin' Places." Our team felt they hadn't nailed the first 20 minutes of the show off-Broadway, so they got to work. I think the specificity of the lyric in "Goin Places" paints a better picture of Joe and Edie's relationship. I also think that, musically, it tells a better story, while fitting more seamlessly into the show—it drives rather than saunters. That, coupled with the cutting of "Body Beautiful Beale" so that it's very clear that Edie's sobriquet is not a good thing in Joe's eyes, are just two examples of changes that make an actor say "Yes!" when he sees those new pages.

I always felt that there was a place for Grey Gardens on Broadway, but I have to admit I was a little surprised at how easily it found a larger audience. Somewhere, Big and Little Edie must be overjoyed that so many people are touched by their story. I know I feel a real sense of gratification having worked on the project since it was a workshop hoping to get produced, an off-Broadway show hoping to be a hit, and now a Broadway musical hoping to leave a lasting memory on the New York stage. The entire Grey Gardens journey continues to produce a treasure of memories that will last a lifetime.