Lady Mendl's Tea Salon
The Bachelors' Tea Party
Theatre Geek says "There are so many hidden gems to be found once you step away from the dazzling brightness of Times Square and this production is certainly one of them." Read the full review.
The New York Times' Local East Village calls The Bachelors' Tea Party "ingenious" and "outrageously perfect." Read the full review.
Final Two Performances!
Buy your tickets now before they're all gone....
A surreal society comedy performed at Lady Mendl's Tea Salon by two actors and four dolls alongside an exquisite 5-course tea service, The Bachelors' Tea Party brings you into the social circle of New York's first power couple, Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl) and Bessie Marbury.
Written by Kiran Rikhye | Directed by Jon Stancato | Featuring Liz Eckert & Jody Flader or Amanda Sykes & Natalie Hegg* | Costumes by Julie Schworm | Props and Graphic Design by Aviva Meyer
*Cast alternates. Please email thechairs@stolenchair.org to confirm which actresses will be performing at a given performance.
For press inquiries please contact Emily Owens PR.
Performances at: Lady Mendl's Tea Salon,
56 Irving Place (Betw. 17th & 18th St)
4, 5, 6, N, Q, R, and L at Union Square
When:
Every Sunday at 5pm (performances Dec 16, 23)
Tickets: $15 performance with $40 required tea service plus tax and tip
Capacity is extremely limited, reservations are strongly recommended.
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The Bachelors' Tea Party is an absurd and absurdly intimate new comedy inspired by the relationships of Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl) and Bessie Marbury, who referred to themselves as "The Bachelors," after they took up joint residence sans men in the first years of the 20th century. Before she invented the profession of interior decorator, de Wolfe was a struggling Broadway performer, known more for her costumes than her acting, and her partner Bessie Marbury, legendary agent and broker, was introducing America to Oscar Wilde and discovering Cole Porter. In a playfully perverse take on a young girl's imaginary tea party, de Wolfe and Marbury will delight and torment each other and entertain a coterie of special guests, "performed" by dolls assembled around the table, with audience members seated only inches away.
Since opening, Lady Mendl's Tea Salon has been consistently rated the best and most romantic Tea Salon in New York City. Guests enjoy a scrumptious five-course tea, consisting of a variety of classic finger sandwiches, fresh baked scones with clotted cream and jams, and a large selection of fine teas. The Victorian style architecture and furnishings recreate a time of sublime elegance. Guests can easily envision Edith Wharton or Elsie de Wolfe entertaining friends at the turn of the century.
Production History
Premiered April 2012
@ Lady Mendl's Tea Salon
Written by Kiran Rikhye | Directed by Jon Stancato | Featuring Liz Eckert & Jody Flader | Costumes by Julie Schworm | Props and Graphic Design by Aviva Meyer
Created in conjunction with Stolen Chair's PlayGround, a Community Supported Theatre (CST)
Press for The Bachelors' Tea Party
For press inquiries please contact Emily Owens PR.
Theatre Geek says "There are so many hidden gems to be found once you step away from the dazzling brightness of Times Square and this production is certainly one of them....Run run run (but be ladylike about it) to Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon to catch this show before it is gone!" Read the full review.
The New York Times' Local East Village calls The Bachelors' Tea Party "ingenious" and "outrageously perfect." Read the full review.
Brandon Voss of The Advocate says:
"Jody Flader and Liz Eckert impress as interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe and theatrical agent Bessie Marbury, feminist pioneers and self-described New York "bachelors" who lived together during the early 20th century, in Kiran Rikhye's absurd light comedy. Cleverly staged like a child's tea party with porcelain dolls sitting in for the couple's social circle, the dainty show is made more satisfying by a tasty five-course tea service."
Martin Denton of NYTheatre.com says:
"[C]harming, witty, and extremely interesting
Clifford Lee Johnson III of Backstage says:
"As much of an event as a play.... the finest night of dinner theater [theatregoers] are ever likely to encounter"
Jessica Doherty of New York Theatre Review says:
"[If] only all theatre included beautifully presented, deliciously decadent five course tea services.....As we got up to leave, a woman I had been sharing a table with exclaimed, 'Well that was just lovely'"
Eva Heinemann of HI! DRAMA says:
"It's the most civilized time I've ever experienced at the theatre or high tea...You don't want to miss this. It is fabulous!
Production Photos:
Photos by Carrie Leonard, 2010
(Click here to view the Picasa album if the gallery does not appear)
Rehearsal Photos:
Photos by Aviva Meyer, 2010
(Click here to view the Picasa album if the gallery does not appear)
Research
This project has been supported immeasurably by the wisdom of Leonard Jacobs, one of New York's great experts on the city's Edwardian days and the birth of Broadway.
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The Characters of the Bachelors' Tea Party
The characters depicted in The Bachelors' Tea Party are inspired by the historical figures of Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl) and Bessie Marbury, and members of their social (and business) circle, Anne Morgan (daughter of Pierpont, sister of J.P.), Matilda DeMille (mother of Cecil), playwright & director Clyde Fitch, and producer Charles Frohman.
(Note from the Chairs: While learning about Elsie and Bessie, we were struck by our own ignorance of their lives prior to embarking on this project, despite their colorful mark on society and culture, multifaceted lives, and pioneering careers in their respective fields. As the events of the play are drawn mostly from the 1900-1909 period, most of the research listed here is confined to that period. However, these fascinating ladies had many more chapters of their lives that we encourage exploring.
Elsie de Wolfe
- 1938 New Yorker Profile of Elsie De Wolfe
- Dressing as a fine art - What Elsie De Wolfe Says (bottom right)
- Elsie De Wolfe Gives Up the Stage
- Article (under World of Women, right most column) about Elsie de Wolfe using furniture from her home as a stage set piece.
- Elsie's practice of doing handstands at parties appears in a Cole Porter song (at 2:30 into the video)
Elisabeth "Bessie" Marbury
- Bessie Marbury's memoirThe Crystal Ball
- Bessie Marbury's obituary
- Article about Bessie's process as a theater agent
Irving House
- Irving House, Bessie and Elsie's residence.
- New York Times on Why the Legend of Irving Place Is but a Myth
The Colony Club
- New York Times articles about the Colony Club, Bessie and Anne Morgan founding members, and Elsie's first interior decorating commission: DISTINGUISED WOMEN BUILDING MAGNIFICENT CLUB HOUSE and NEW COLONY CLUB NO PLACE FOR MEN
Clyde Fitch
- Leonard Jacobs' profile of Clyde Fitch
- Article by Clyde Fitch on Playwriting: Part 1, Part 2
Tea Etiquette
- Get ready for the 5 course tea service with a lesson on tea etiquette
- "Would You Care for Weak Tea or Strong Tea?"
Cut Paste Corset Perfect becomes The Bachelors' Tea Party
This play, like many Stolen Chair works, began life as a wholly different theatrical project. Our earliest research had us exploring the surreal world of Victorian photocollages and the women who made them, as seen in the exhibit "Playing with Pictures", and this exploration would not have been possible without the support of the Art Institute's Liz Siegel and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Malcolm Daniel. While we've hopped continents and half a century since those early drafts, quite a few relics of these first stabs have found their way into our current work. Original namedCut Paste Corset Perfect, what now is The Bachelors' Tea Party began in the PlayGround, Stolen Chair's program for connecting theatre-goers and theare-makers during the development process.