A surreal society comedy performed by two actors and four dolls alongside an exquisite 5-course tea service.
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.
As provocative as the
high tea was romantic (and yummy) Dorothy Chansky , Theatre Journal