Photo from greystonemansion.org
LENGTH
2.5 Hours
PRICE
$65
LOCATION
Beverly Hills
The Manor: An immersive theater experience by Theater 40
The Manor immersive play takes place in the Greystone Manor in Beverly Hills. The play follows the MacAlister family, who are mining barons of the time. The audience is lead through the bottom floor of the mansion, watching 10-15 minutes scenes by different groups of actors. Read the Synopsis below or skip over to see what we thought about the production without any spoilers.
After arriving on the impressive mansion grounds, the audience walks through the majestic Greystone Mansion to the parlor. In it, there is a lively wedding reception for Abby and Sean, who is the son of the wealthy mining tycoon Charles MacAlister, owner of the mansion. We also meet Abby’s childhood friend and his loud English wife, Henrietta. Charles’ old family friend Senator Alfred and his wife are also present, ready to play their role.
Next, we are broken into smaller groups and are led away from the lively party. In the study, we watch as the senator speaks in private to Charles about a lucrative mining deal that would benefit both of them. Additionally, as a separate favor, Senator Alfred asks his friend for a “small loan” of one hundred thousand dollars.
In the next scene, we see Greg drinking a lot, and having a row with his wife. It seems he has always loved Abby, but her father threatened him against marrying her, or even telling her how he feels.
In the final mini scene of the first act, we see Abby and Sean planning to consummate their marriage in one of the manor bedrooms, but they are shortly interrupted.
Back in the parlor, Charles tells his son Sean and Greg to take out the 100k and deliver it to the Senator in Washington.
The second act of the play begins ten years later. Things taken a turn for the worse for the MacAlister family. Charles is being charged with bribing the Senator in order to receive the mining rights. Sean and Greg are also implicated. We follow the actors through a few more rooms as they attempt to deal with their family’s situation.
In the final scene, Greg loses control. The combination of his impending court sentence, his angry estranged wife, and his unspoken love for Abby end up being too much. He is drunk, scared, and angry. He starts wielding a gun, and in the end he accidentally shoots his friend Sean, killing him in front of Abby. Horrified by what he has done, Greg then turns the gun on himself and commits suicide.
The audience is then silently rush out of the hallway, leaving the MacAlisters a broken family.
The Good
The acting
We were treated to some of the best acting we have seen this year. Each actor did a terrific job portraying the character they were playing. We found ourselves lost in the story, often forgetting we were watching a play at all. It didn’t hurt that the play took place in the very same rooms the true murder happened in almost 100 years ago.
The location
Playgoers couldn’t ask for a better setting to watch the tragedy unfold. Apart from being an amazing building, it is the actual location of the actual event the show references. If you haven’t had a chance to visit Greystone, it is a beautiful building, even when the event isn’t going on.
The Organization
It isn’t easy to give a group of 60+ play goers an intimate view into each scene. But Theater 40 did a great job. They accomplished this by breaking the group into three smaller groups. Each group saw each portion of the play at different times. We were rotated through each brief actor interaction until returning to the main room. It made the performances feel very personal, and felt a lot like we were living in the game Clue.
The Bad
The Timing
It was hard to find things we didn’t like about The Manor. One of the only things that stood out to use would be the timing. Since there were three groups, we had to rotate to see each performance. Occasionally we would have to wait in the main hallway until our next performance was ready for us. A couple times we accidentally saw the dramatic ending of the next portion because our segment had ended early. While it didn’t ruin the play for us, it did pull us away from the play a tiny bit.
9.4
/10
Murder at Greystone Manor Review Summary
Every year for a few weeks there is a production of The Manor at Greystone Mansion, and no one knows about it. This secret immersive theater has been going on for years. If you are a fan of Wicked Lit or similar productions, you will love The Manor. This year was our first time going, and we were blown away by everything about this product. Make sure to follow Theater 40 to learn about when the Manor is playing next year.
