THE MANOR is by now a Los Angeles/Beverly Hills institution, currently in its 15th year after having surpassed its 200th performance in 2014. The show is a roman a clef, a fictionalization based on real events, although “the names have been changed to protect the guilty,” as we are informed during the show’s introduction. To lend authenticity to the tale, the show is presented in the grand and glorious Greystone Mansion, a Beverly Hills architectural landmark in which the events of 88 years ago actually took place.
I am a big fan of interactive theater where the actors perform in close proximity to the audience, making us feel as if we are part of the show. While only tour guides James the butler (stalwart Daniel Lench) and two others on the house staff (Katharine Henryk as Ursula the caring housekeeper and Esther Richman as the mute maid Ellie) communicate directly with the audience as they guide us from scene to scene, the rest of the characters in the play do not as they represent “the spirits still living in the home where the tragic events occurred, doomed to repeat them forever.” And what a treat it is to wander among all the fine woodwork and rooms decorated with 1920s appropriate furnishings and props on display just for this production.
Money, madness, murder, sex. Before there was Dallas, before there was a Dynasty or Scandal, there was “The Manor.”
And if it hadn’t actually happened, Hollywood could not have invented it. The play begins in the grand living room on the wedding day of MacAlister heir Sean (handsomely sexy Shawn Savage whose final scene was a wonder to behold as he tumbled down the staircase and rested at my feet) and the virginal Abby (Annalee Scott) the daughter of MacAlister lawyer Frank Parsons (Theatre 40’s compelling leading man Martin Thompson). While the guests mill about drinking “ice tea” from the office’s hidden bar, in walks the emotionally confused and hard drinking MacAlister handyman Gregory Pugh (Caleb Slavens), who recently returned from a trip to New York where he met and married the loud-mouthed British music hall entertainer Henrietta Havesham Pugh (spunky flapper Sarah Van Der Pol) who sees dollar signs in her future and fakes a pregnancy to force their marriage. It is Gregory’s unrequited love for Abby that drives the story to its bitter end.
As the new husband and wife attempt to consummate their marriage, the supporting scenes in the walk-through production depict momentous changes in the fortunes of the fabulously wealthy MacAlister Family (fictional surrogates of the oil-rich Doheny Family) via the actions of family patriarch and mining tycoon Charles (determined and decisive Darby Hinton who this year sports a fabulously full beard).
When he makes an illegal if well-intentioned loan to Senator Alfred Winston (a stand-in for Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall portrayed by “good old boy” actor Daniel Leslie to the comical hilt), both men face imminent disgrace and worse in the upcoming Teapot Dome bribery scandal which engulfed the Warren Harding administration, here depicted as a bribe exchanged for building Pearl Harbor to obtain mining rights in New Mexico.
Events are put in place that lead to machinations which cause the younger scion of the MacAlister family to face an unexpected and violent death.That scene is played out on the grand staircase, although the real events took place in the room now used as the actors’ dressing are.
Kathrine Bates is the playwright and also appears as MacAlister matriarch Marion (during the first week of the run only this year) who is often seated at the lovely grand piano in the living room with her melodies echoing throughout each of the scenes in the other rooms.
Her other works include TALHOTBLOND, which I thoroughly enjoyed at the Ruskin Group. Her love of the Doheny story and enthusiasm for the production radiates in every scene. It’s always a treat to see Bates and Melanie MacQueen as Cora Winston, the Senator’s wife, during their fine moments together discussing the trials and tribulations of their respective marriages to powerful men.
Several of the roles are double cast so the actors I have mentioned may be different than the ones you see when you attend. “The Manor” company includes, in alphabetical order: Kathrine Bates, Katherine Henryk, Darby Hinton, Shelby Kocee, Daniel Lench, Daniel Leslie, Melanie MacQueen, Carol Potter, Esther Richman, Shawn Savage, Annalee Scott, Caleb Slavens, Martin Thompson and Sarah van der Pol. Don Solosan returns for his fifth season as production Stage Manager, positioned in the central hallway so he is able to see all the entrances and exits for each of the scenes to keep the all-important timing in place. The fast-paced production is once again directed by Flora Plumb, who recently was a standout as Lillian Hellman opposite Dick Cavett in the West Coast premiere of Hellman v. McCarthy at Theatre 40.
I strongly suggest booking your tickets soon as seating is limited with tickets more readily available for weeknight performances at Greystone Mansion in Greystone Park, 905 Loma Vista Drive (above Sunset Blvd.), Beverly Hills. Free parking onsite.
Performances continue through Jan. 29 (with possible extensions). Please note evening shows begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday to Friday nights, with weekend matinees at 1 p.m. on Jan. 8, 14, 21, 22, 28 and 29. Tickets are $65 and reservations must be made in advance by phone at 310-364-3606. There is no online ticketing and no one will be admitted without advance reservation. Reserve early, as many performances will sell out. More information at www.theatre40.org