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Growing up in Hellertown, Kim Carson considered acting and singing a hobby and never intended it as a career. The 25-year-old thought she would become a pediatrician, but she participated in school and community plays each year and, after her sophomore year of high school when the latter was remodeling its stage, the community play was postponed.
Finding a new outlet, the then-16-year-old auditioned for "Godspell" at Cedar Crest College in nearby Allentown and landed the role of shy Peggy. There, she met others who had shared her passion for acting and were considering it as a career, which made her rethink her future.
"It kind of changed my mind of what I wanted to do with my life and changed the direction of my life," she said.
Now Carson, who resides at Eighth and Montrose streets, will play Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale in the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s "Grey Gardens." The musical had its Philadelphia debut last night and runs through June 28 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, Broad and Lombard streets.
Carson heard about the Tony-winning musical based on Albert and David Maysles’ 1975 documentary of the eccentric mother-daughter Beales a while ago when it made its Broadway debut (the same year Time magazine heralded it as the "Number One Show of 2006"). While she never caught it on the Great White Way, she had listened to its Grammy-nominated music, including "Mother Darling," "Peas in a Pod," "Daddy’s Girl" and "Going Places," that she will now belt out for her own eager audience.
"The music is pretty brilliant, so I fell in love with it early on," she said.
The Barrymore-winner for Outstanding Actress in a Musical had met Lois Kitz at the regional theater awards banquet last year. Kitz, casting director and Philadelphia Theatre Company manager, asked if she was interested in the "Grey Gardens’" role. Carson auditioned in November, singing "Gimme Gimme" from "Thoroughly Modern Millie," and, while she wasn’t offered a spot immediately, Kitz called the next day. Told to keep her schedule open, the casting folks were not sure who would play the mother-daughter of the same name, but Carson by all accounts should be a part of the show.
For Carson, although she went in hoping to snag the coveted role, she has trained herself to never get too hyped about a part. She knows every audition is a process — a sometimes painful one — but "this one I broke my own rule of not getting too excited," she said. "I really wanted this one."
What attracted Carson to Little Edie was that she was like "American royalty." Carson will portray the socialite, model and cabaret performer at age 25. Since she was in the public eye at that age and known for performing, Carson looked at old photos and watched the documentary, in addition to ferreting out clues in the script, to understand Little Edie, she said.
"It’s really exciting because the whole play is written so well," Carson said. "Because it’s so smart that almost makes it more difficult. You’re sort of imitating someone who really existed, but my job is to be that person 30 years younger, so it’s sort of this extra challenge."
The Edies began rehearsal April 24 with the remaining cast joining them four days later. For three weeks, the ensemble went over lines and songs eight hours a day.
The three-time Tony-winning musical looks at the eccentric socialites Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Edie, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy’s aunt and cousin, respectively, who lived in tony East Hampton, N.Y. The two lose their wealth and lifestyle and their mansion soon goes by the wayside, but they remain in the 14-room home dubbed Grey Gardens. Beginning in 1941, the musical spans decades and looks at the Edies through the years, from debutante balls and high society to a reclusive existence. Hollis Resnik takes the role of Little Edie in Act II, while Joy Franz plays Big Edie.
"The ensemble is just really great and the writing itself is really great," Carson said. "It looks like a million bucks up there."
Even though her lineage is an artistic one, no one in Carson’s immediate family, who still resides in Hellertown, made a career out of it: Mother Deb is a nurse, father Mark is a technician and brother Chris is a hardware store manager.
"Nobody does it, but my mom has a great voice, a great voice," Carson said. "She doesn’t like to admit it, but she does."
The actress and fiancé Matt Pfeiffer, who are set to tie the knot in August, share the acting bug but he also is known as a director. The two met at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, where Carson performed during her time at DeSales University in shows such as "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Hamlet."
Carson has steadily jumped from production to production since graduating in ’05. In the last four years, she has landed roles at the Arden Theatre, People’s Light & Theatre Company, Mum Puppettheatre and the Walnut Street Theatre, among others. She landed a Barrymore nod in ’07 for "The Fantasticks" and, in ’08, for "Six Characters in Search of an Author." That same year, she picked up her first win for "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
Her talents also have hit the silver screen in "Ruined" and "Gamma Man Cometh: Revenge of Dr. Gamma Fist" and include dancing, puppetry (which she picked up at Mum) and the rare ability to sneeze on cue.
"I just put it on [my resume] to make someone laugh or make someone ask about it," she said of the conversation-starter.
Like her fiancé, Carson once had an eye on directing while majoring in theater at college, but decided to put herself in front of the audience rather than behind the curtain.
"I think the next five years are going to be about just really going for it career-wise," she said, "see if I can broaden my horizons and get my hands on everything I can."
While she wants to start a family she also wants to get her master’s with a focus on teaching, directing or playwriting.
"My interests are too v aried to zero in," Carson said. "I kind of just love doing theater."
