A Night at the Astors’

By: Erin McKenna
Posted In: Entertainment

The Astors’ Beechwood is best known as the summer cottage for the legendary Mrs. Astor. Famous for being the leading socialite in New York Society in the Gilded Age, Mrs. Astor would host numerous balls at the Beechwood, with only the best of the best in society attending.

According to the Beechwood’s website, the mansion was built in 1851 for Daniel Parrish, a New York merchant. Mrs. Astor’s husband, William Backhouse Astor, Jr. bought the mansion in 1881, and Mrs. Astor quickly made it the center of New York Society social life. It is where she would host wonderful parties for the famous “400,” a rich group of 213 families and individuals who could trace their immense wealth back to at least three generations.

Now, the Beechwood is home to the Beechwood Theatre Company. The group, consisting of 10 cast members as well as other support staff, hosts daily live theatrical tours throughout the year, culminating at the end of the year with its evening Christmas tours and Victorian Christmas Feast.

For the Beechwood Theatre Company, Christmas begins in August. This is when Patrick Grimes, the production manager for the theater group, passes out the music and begins to lead rehearsals. The cast members practice twice a week for three hours in order to perfect two hours worth of music. In addition to this, the actors and actresses are also responsible for being able to portray three characters, an aristocrat in the year 1891, such as one of Mrs. Astor’s children or one of the family’s friends or relatives, a servant in the year 1891, and an aristocrat during the 1920s.

Grimes believes the most difficult part of these Christmas performances is not the large amount of singing, but rather the fact that all of the acting is improvisational. This is because during Christmas time, the theater group gives “environmental tours.” This means the tours are not led by a guide, but rather visitors are able to wander through the mansion, talk with the actors and actresses at their own leisure, and ask questions whenever they like and to whomever they like.

“It’s the hardest thing as an actor because you don’t know what’s going to come out of people’s mouth,” Grimes said. “You have no control in that situation.”

The actors and actresses also have to become very familiar with the background and history of the Astor family in order to answer the questions as accurately as possible. Morgen Balletto, an actress with the group as well as the person who has the task of decorating the mansion and taking care of the props, explained that the year-round team also has to do all of the research on the Astors.

“We have all of our own research on it,” she said. “But we’re always learning new things.”

In addition to acting and researching, Balletto also has the job of decorating the large, 47-room mansion for the Christmas season. Along with three other ladies, they work for three days in November to put up a large Christmas tree in the ballroom, a smaller one in one of the sitting rooms, decorate all of the fireplaces with greens and lights, as well as adorn a large, sweeping banister leading from the foyer to the upstairs with garland and ribbon.

Because the Astors never stayed at the Beechwood during the Christmas season, the four ladies decorate the mansion based on their own preference, keeping in mind the numerous weddings that are held in the mansion.

“Because the downstairs has a lot of weddings and functions, a lot of it has to fit in with a d