Susan Granger’s review of “The Gilded Age” (HBO Original Series)
If you enjoyed Julian Fellowes’ “Downton Abbey,” stream his latest mini-series, “The Gilded Age,” a period drama set in the Fifth Avenue mansions of New York City, where old money is suddenly confronted by new, threatening the aristocratic social hierarchy.
Set in the 1880s, the title refers to the economic boom between the Civil War, which ended in 1865, and the first decade of the twentieth century. Mark Twain coined the term ‘Gilded Age’ in his satirical novel, poking fun at how the crass ‘nouveau riche’ covered wood and other decorative objects with a thin layer of gold to make them look more lavish and expensive.
This saga begins as young, penniless Marion Brook (Louisa Jacobson, Meryl Steep’s youngest daughter) arrives from rural Pennsylvania to live on East 61st Street with her arrogant, snobbish aunt, Agnes Von Rhijn (Christine Baranski), son Oscar (Blake Ritson) and spinster sister Ada (Cynthia Nixon).
Across the street, the Russells move into their gaudy, newly-built Stanford White-designed mansion. George Russell (Morgan Spector) is a ruthless railroad tycoon, while his wife Bertha (Carrie Coons) is an ambitious social climber. Completing the Russell family are Harvard-educated son Larry (Harry Richardson) and eligible daughter Gladys (Taissa Farmiga, younger sister of Vera Farmiga).
Of course, these grand houses must have servants, providing continual upstairs/downstairs subplots and gossip. When Marion arrives, she introduces Peggy Scott (Denee Benton), a college-educated Black writer from Brooklyn who becomes Agnes’ secretary.
Because Covid closed many shows, Julian Fellowes was able to cast top Broadway stars like Donna Murphy (as formidable Mrs. Astor), Audra McDonald (as Peggy’s mother) and Kelli O’Hara (as socialite Aurora Fane) in pivotal roles, along with Nathan Lane, Debra Monk, Jack Gilpin, Katie Finneran, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Bill Irwin, and Michael Cerveris.
Immigrants believed “the streets are paved with gold,” because the owners of these ostentatious Fifth Avenue manors came to America with nothing and amassed great fortunes. To learn more, read Anderson Cooper’s “Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty.”
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Gilded Age” is an erudite, elegant 8, streaming on HBO.
