"The Gilded Age" Coming to HBO on January 24

If the pandemic has prevented you from traveling over the last two years, you may find comfort going back in time via Julian Fellowes’ new HBO show “The Gilded Age.” The creator of “Downton Abbey” (2010-2015) and screenwriter of “Gosford Park” (2001) will transport viewers to 1880s New York when his latest period drama launches on January 24. At Broadway Stages, we cannot wait to see how our facilities help bring that turbulent period in New York City’s history to life.

A brief history lesson before you travel back in time: The Gilded Age (1870s-1900) was a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization in America. Skyscrapers transformed the skylines of Chicago and New York City while wealthy Americans built massive mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a period of widening disparity between the rich and the poor and a constant battle between old money aristocrats and nouveau riche industrialists over who ruled high society.

“The Gilded Age” centers on Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), a penniless and orphaned young woman who moves from rural Pennsylvania to New York City in 1882 to live with her aristocratic aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon). Marian brings with her Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), an aspiring writer seeking a fresh start. Marian finds herself in the middle of a war between Aunt Agnes and her “new money” neighbors, the ruthless railroad tycoon George Russell (Morgan Spector) and his ambitious wife Bertha (Carrie Coon).

Others in the cast include Taissa Farmiga, Blake Ritson, Simon Jones, Harry Richardson, Thomas Cocquerel, and Jack Gilpin. Jeanne Tripplehorn, Nathan Lane, and Audra McDonald (Baranski’s co-star on “The Good Fight,” also filmed at Broadway Stages) will guest star.

This project has been in the works for years, but it is finally arriving at the perfect time for television viewers eager to travel without leaving home. This interview of Christine Baranski on The Late Show with Steven Colbert, provides insight on the authenticity of the period costumes. For more about “The Gilded Age” check out the trailer below.