Theater News

Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski to Play Fabulous Aunts in The Gilded Age on HBO

A host of theater stars including Kelli O’Hara, Audra McDonald, and Nathan Lane appear in this new drama from ”Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes.

Cyntha Nixon and Christine Baranski (foreground) star in The Gilded Age on HBO.
Cyntha Nixon and Christine Baranski (foreground) star in The Gilded Age on HBO.
(© Alison Cohen Rosa)

Stage veterans Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski will play lead roles on The Gilded Age, the new television drama written by Julian Fellowes and Sonja Warfield, and directed by Michael Engler and Salli Richardson-Whitfield, which is set to debut on HBO on Monday, January 24 at 9pm.

The 9-episode series begins in 1882 with young Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City after the death of her father to live with her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Baranski) and Ada Brook (Nixon). Accompanied by Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), an aspiring writer seeking a fresh start, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts, a scion of the old money set, and her stupendously rich neighbors, a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife, George (Morgan Spector) and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon). Exposed to a world on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?

You can see the just-released trailer of The Gilded Age below:

In addition to the aforementioned actors, The Gilded Age will feature a slew of beloved stage stars including Ben Ahlers, Michael Cerveris, Kelley Curran, Claybourne Elder, Linda Emond, Katie Finneran, Amy Forsyth, Michel Gill, Ward Horton, Bill Irwin, Sullivan Jones, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Kelli O'Hara, Patrick Page, Taylor Richardson, Douglas Sills, John Douglas Thompson, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Erin Wilhelmi.

The Gilded Age is the creation of writer/executive producer Julian Fellowes, executive producer Gareth Neame, director/executive producer Michael Engler, executive producer David Crockett, director/executive producer Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and writer/co-executive producer Sonja Warfield.

Click here to visit the official website for The Gilded Age.