In the well-to-do neighborhood of South Hampton on Long Island, behind creaky gates, sits an austere house, grey and vine-covered, next to a lifeless garden.  In the year 1971, ‘Grey Gardens,’ in which the Beales reside, is in a slow state of decay.  The once high-class ladies known as ‘Big’ and ‘Little’ Edie Bouvier Beale, cousins to first lady Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, now live among chaos and decay.  Many cats ramble throughout the house, raccoons weasel their way in through the doors and walls to be fed by the generous Little Edie, and trash rots in piles throughout the unkempt house.

But their lives were not always in shambles.  Once members of high society, the mother-daughter duo has weathered through hardships together for many years.

In 1975, Albert and David Maysles learned of the Beales’ unusual situation and created a documentary called ‘Grey Gardens.’ Later, it was converted into a musical, and last year HBO released it as a TV movie starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.  The musical production premiers tonight at the Unicorn Theater downtown starring STA mother and actress Cathy Barnett, alongside Kathleen Warful and Lauren Braton. These women are both enjoying the comical aspects of playing such quirky characters, and struggling to connect with them.  As the date draws nearer to opening night, they are finding they have more in common with the grief-stricken women than they thought possible.

‘People will often look at a situation like this and go ‘ËœHow?! How can that be?” said Cathy Barnett, mother of Julia and star of the musical.  ‘When there’s grief, and there’s a great deal of grief in these people’s lives, and if you don’t work through those things, then you keep all that stuff around you and it’s kind of a way to stay away from it.’

Their grief began in 1941 when Mr. and Mrs. Beale split up, leaving Big Edie lonely and needy.  Acting out of selfishness, Big Edie demanded that her daughter reside with her after discovering Little Edie’s affair with a married man.  This temporary living situation soon became a trap for Little Edie, who could never find the chance to leave and return to New York City to fulfill her dreams of acting on Broadway.

‘I would think, if Little Edie could see into the future, I think she would’ve stayed in New York,’ said Braton, who plays Little Edie in Act 1.  ‘I think she would have said ‘ËœI can’t let this happen.’  I think it would have given her a reason to do what she wanted to do.’

And Little Edie was good at what she wanted to do.  She had spirit and passion, even spontaneously dancing in front of big-time producer Max Gordon in a restaurant.  Big Edie enjoyed the theater and music as well, putting on performances in her home before the divorce.  Their need to shine after being suppressed for so many years comes through in the documentary as well as the musical.

‘I think you’ll watch the documentary and have the same reaction that we’ve all had, which is, there’s so much humanity in it; and yet they’re funny and entertaining and they’re always on camera, and you know what? I like a gal like that,’ Barnett said.  ‘I can just really relate to the Beales.  And I really think a lot of people can.’

Barnett is taking on a difficult task in this production by assuming two roles: Big Edie in Act 1 and Little Edie in Act 2.  Warful stars alongside her as Big Edie in Act 2. Though Barnett is struggling to connect with Big Edie, she seems to have no problems clicking with Little Edie.

‘Well, I’ve been very worried about [playing two characters],’ Barnett said.  ‘Not so much Little Edie in Act 2, because I just get her.  I don’t see what’s so weird about feeding raccoons and talking about why you should have been on Broadway.  I mean, that makes like perfect sense to me, somehow.’

Barnett finds many parallels between her own life and Little Edie’s, including pursuing an acting career in New York and later returning home.  Her unique personality is fitted to match that of her character’s as well.

‘I could wear nudes on my head and my clothes upside down all the time,’ Barnett joked.  ‘I’d like to be Little Edie all the time.  Cause she’s hilarious and she’s so free-spirited, and I know that there’s a great sadness driving her.  But sometimes I think there’s a great sadness driving all of us.’

Though the HBO film utilizes only one actor for each role, Barnett believes their are advantages to this set up.

‘I think they do it this way because the theater, intrinsically, is more theatrical to take a license like that, and I think it allows for a more theatrical inspiration of the show,’ Barnett said.  ‘Because, like I’ve said, I’ve started to learn things about Edie because of what [Lauren’s] doing, and I’ve learned things about Edie because of what [Kathleen’s] doing. So it’s been interesting.’

Interesting is also a way to describe the relationship between these two women.  At times, they fight like cats, but they always pull each other through.

‘It’s as though you’ve got a mother-daughter relationship, which is prone to have its sand papery moments, and they never progressed,’ Warful said.  ‘They just didn’t grow out of.  It has been what has moved them forward sometimes and what has not .’

Though anyone can identify extreme selfishness in Big Edie to cause regrets and unhappiness in her daughter, Warful argues that she can relate.

‘There are sort of embarrassing similarities,’ Warful said.  ‘You know, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to let go of things.  There’s a part of me where I find myself arguing with my husband where I’m not fair.  It makes me more aware, though.’

When Big Edie saw the slightest indication that her life was falling apart, she drew her daughter down with her and became reclusive.

‘But then later on in the second act, you find out [she forced Little Edie to stay with her] because she didn’t want to lose her daughter, she just lost her husband,’ Warful said.  ‘Of course.  She’d be alone.’

‘But ultimately, a mother should have gotten her crap together and not devastated her daughter’s life,’ Barnett said.

‘But then where would the story be?’ Warful replied.