‘The Manor’ Travel Back In Time With This Amazing Cast & Equally Amazing Production

The Manor0322 copy-1 copy‘The Manor’ is by now a Los Angeles/Beverly Hills institution. This brilliant play is in its fifteenth year and definitely on my must see list.

The production takes place inside the beautiful Greystone Mansion built in 1928 and is  the former home to the son of the oil rich Doheny Family.

‘The Manor’ even though fictionalized,  is inspired by true events.  The elder Doheny became embroiled in the Teapot Dome political scandal leading to a suicide and a murder.

The play is presented in the mansion’s opulent rooms and hallways.  The names have been changed of course for obvious reasons, but it is still the Doheny’s story.

When the play opens we find that a wedding is taking place. The family patriarch and mining tycoon Charles (the wonderful, Darby Hinton) son, Sean (Shawn Savage) has married the beautiful, Abby (the excellent, Annalee Scott).  Thanks to the creativity of the director, Flora Plum, we watch as the cast drifts about in a ghostly memorizing fashion.

It’s here in the exquisitely decorated living room, we get to meet the people who inhabit Greystone Manor as well as their friends and colleagues.

Everyone, including Charles and his wife, Marion (the fantastic Kathrine Bates, who’s also the playwright) could not be happier for the bride and groom. Well not exactly everyone. Sean’s friend and the Manor’s gardner Gregory (Caleb Slavens) is secretly in love with Abbie. This of course does not sit well with Gregory’s gold digging wife, Cora (Melanie MacQueen) who loves to be the center of attention.

Yes ‘The Manor’ is filled with secrets, intrigue, unrequited love and an illegal business deal  that involves a super sleazy Senator (perfectly played by Daniel Leslie)  which leads to a very bad end for the MacAlisters.

We get to experience it all thanks to the wonderful household staff which include, James, the Butler (Daniel Leslie), Ursula, the Housekeeper (Katherine Henryk) and Ellie, the Maid (Esther Richman) who escort us through the various rooms and hallways of the mansion so we can watch as the story of the MacAlisters as it unfolds.

‘The Manor’ reopened on January 5, 2017 and plays evenings at 6:00 pm on January 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27. Weekend matinees at 1:00pm on January 8, 14, 21, 22, 28 and 29th.

ADMISSION: $65. For reservations call 310-364-3606. There’s no online ticketing.

 

Joan Alperin

About Joan Alperin

Joan was born in Brooklyn and spent many years working as an actress in New York City. Even though she traveled extensively, Joan couldn't imagine living anywhere else.. Well one day, she met someone at a party who regaled her with stories about living in L. A. specifically Topanga Canyon. A few weeks later she found herself on an airplane bound for Los Angeles. Joan immediately fell in love with the town and has been living here for the last twenty years and yes, she even made it to Topanga Canyon, where she now resides, surrounded by nature, deer, owls and all kinds of extraordinary alien creatures.. Joan continued acting, but for the last several years (besides reviewing plays and film) she has been writing screenplays. Joan was married to a filmmaker who created the cult classic films, (way before she knew him) Faces of Death. As a result of his huge following, they created a funny movie review show entitled Two Jews on Film, where Joan and her husband, John would review movies and rate them with bagels You can see their reviews by going to youtube.com/twojewsonfilm. Although it's now only one Jew - Joan is occasionally joined by her beautiful Pekingnese and Japanese Chin.
This entry was posted in Miscellanious. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply