Celebrities ranging from Oscar Wilde and Sarah Bernhardt, to Mark Twain and Walt Whitman all made their way to the top-floor studio in Manhattan’s Union Square with its tiny elevator to have their images immortalized by Napoleon Sarony, who was the most famous photographer in America during the Gilded Age. Sarony’s genius lay in his ability to stage a photograph with poses, costumes, and… Continue reading Episode #126: The Man Who Invented Celebrity Photography
Topic: Theater, Music & Opera
Episode Encore: A Toast for the New Year: Gilded Age Cocktails with Don Spiro
Don Spiro, a vintage beverage specialist and one of the Gilded Gentleman’s most popular guests, presents a fascinating history of cocktails in the 19th century, leading up to the Gilded Age. Many cocktails often thought to have originated in the Jazz Age of the 1920s actually had their roots in the bars and saloons of the Gilded Age. … Continue reading Episode Encore: A Toast for the New Year: Gilded Age Cocktails with Don Spiro
Episode #121: Hot Victorian Holiday (Bowery Boys History Live at City Winery)
As a special holiday bonus treat, join Greg Young of the Bowery Boys for this fun, festive look at some “hot history”. Greg is joined by Carl Raymond of The Gilded Gentleman, Aaron Radford-Wattley, creator and author of Hot Victorians: Meet Your Dream Man from the Past, and Kyle Supley, historian and tour guide for this celebration of stories for the season. Pour some… Continue reading Episode #121: Hot Victorian Holiday (Bowery Boys History Live at City Winery)
Episode #120: Inside “Ragtime”: The Return of an American Musical Epic
For many, the hit of Broadway’s current season is the revival of the Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (book by Terrence McNally, based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow) musical “Ragtime” produced by Lincoln Center Theater. Times have evolved since the musical’s original Broadway production in 1998, and this moving, emotional, painful, and ultimately inspiring new revival makes the show’s… Continue reading Episode #120: Inside “Ragtime”: The Return of an American Musical Epic
Episode #95: Vienna 1874: Die Fledermaus and the World of Johann Strauss II
The world of Vienna at the end of the 19th century and into the early 20th was a world of change. New design, new fashion and new philosophy -and new music. But amidst sweeping change, the Viennese drank champagne and were swept along by the works of the great Johann Strauss II, known appropriately as the “Waltz King”. One of… Continue reading Episode #95: Vienna 1874: Die Fledermaus and the World of Johann Strauss II
Episode #93: Burlesque: The Art of Taking It (Almost) All Off
This Fall’s Broadway season includes the opening of a new revival of the classic musical GYPSY: A Musical Fable by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents. This new revival stars Tony, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Audrea McDonald as the irrepressible Mama Rose, in this iconic show based on the memoirs of burlesque performer, Gypsy Rose Lee. To celebrate this… Continue reading Episode #93: Burlesque: The Art of Taking It (Almost) All Off
Episode #92: The ‘Bishop’ of Broadway: The Life and Times of David Belasco
David Belasco, playwright, producer, impresario, theatre manager and theatrical visionary, was one of the most important names in the world of the Gilded Age stage. Beginning his life and career in San Francisco following the Gold Rush years, he moved to New York to revolutionize how theatre was seen and produced in the last years of the… Continue reading Episode #92: The ‘Bishop’ of Broadway: The Life and Times of David Belasco
Episode #79: Sweeney Todd’s Original Johanna: A Tribute to Broadways’ Sarah Rice
Just over a year ago, as Broadway opened a revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim musical, “Sweeney Todd”, The Gilded Gentleman was honored to sit down with one of the stars of the original 1979 Broadway production. Sarah Rice, who went on to a distinguished career in opera as well as leading roles in musical theatre, originated the… Continue reading Episode #79: Sweeney Todd’s Original Johanna: A Tribute to Broadways’ Sarah Rice
Episode #61: The Opening of the Metropolitan Opera 1883 (ENCORE)
Celebrate the opening of the opera season Gilded Age style! In this encore episode, Carl delves into just how the Metropolitan Opera came to be and what it meant to those bejeweled Gilded Age audiences. Most of the drama took place in the audience – and not so much on the stage. On the night of October 22,… Continue reading Episode #61: The Opening of the Metropolitan Opera 1883 (ENCORE)
Episode #58: Music of the Gilded Age: Symphonies to Saxophones
Join Carl and his guest historian and professional musician Dr. Christpher Brellochs for a tour through the musical influences of the Gilded Age. Music in the Gilded Age incorporated many different styles and influences from the classical symphonies and operas brought to American concert halls and stages from Europe to more home grown music that included military-influenced music as well… Continue reading Episode #58: Music of the Gilded Age: Symphonies to Saxophones