Another 'Gilded Age' character is ready for her 'Bertha era' to start

As Denée Benton puts it, the 3rd play of “The Gilded Age” saw the show’s “multiverse expand.”

Benton plays Peggy Scott connected the HBO drama, acceptable successful New York precocious nine successful the precocious 1800s. Season 3 saw Benton’s Peggy find emotion with Dr. William Kirkland (Jordan Donica), overmuch to the chagrin of William’s snooty mother, Elizabeth (Phylicia Rashad) — who disapproves of the Scott household for galore reasons, including their acheronian tegument and the information that Peggy’s dada is simply a pharmacist without generational wealth. Telling the communicative of the Black elite surviving successful Newport, R.I., and the classism and colorism wrong that assemblage was vitally important.

“The much we research what truly went connected successful that time, the much we tin marque Black characters successful television, movie and theatre afloat three-dimensional,” says Audra McDonald, who plays Peggy’s mother, Dorothy. “When I archetypal heard astir ‘The Gilded Age,’ I was like, ‘Oh, what servant americium I going to beryllium asked to play? What downtrodden character?’ So the information that they’ve been truthful accurate, that’s been the astir breathtaking happening for me.”

Nor has colorism — including successful Hollywood — been consigned to the dustbin of history. “None of it has truly changed,” Benton says.

The instauration of the Scotts’ tense dynamic with the Kirkland family, which besides includes William’s dad, Frederick (Brian Stokes Mitchell), on with different relatives and friends, has helped the bid enactment “new and true,” according to Benton. “If we had gone the aforesaid aged way of play dramas and tokenism, it would person fallen flat.”

Audra McDonald, left, and Denée Benton successful “The Gilded Age.”

(Karolina Wojtasik / HBO)

Many of Peggy’s storylines successful the archetypal 2 seasons centered connected the information that her father, Arthur (John Douglas Thompson), upset that Peggy had joined a antheral helium deemed beneath her, got her matrimony annulled, lied to her that her babe died astatine commencement and secretly gave her lad up for adoption. Peggy and Dorothy discovered the truth, lone to larn that the small lad had since died of scarlet fever. By the show’s 3rd season, however, Peggy and Dorothy look to person forgiven Arthur for his horrific betrayal.

“This is simply a clip erstwhile divorcement truly isn’t an option,” McDonald says. “So Dorothy is going to person to unrecorded with this antheral for the remainder of her life, and she knows that. I deliberation it would person been detrimental to Peggy if Dorothy were to person ne'er forgiven Arthur. Dorothy needed to forgive Arthur to exemplary that for Peggy.”

For Benton, Peggy’s forgiveness is “a portion of a beauteous legacy”: “I deliberation astir however Alice Walker, Toni Morrison oregon August Wilson constitute astir the generational trauma that could hap wrong Black families. … It was portion of a truly potent communicative of redemption that I deliberation galore Black families tin subordinate to — the mode racism and patriarchy affects our household structures and however to support reaching for each other’s humanity successful the midst of each of these dehumanizing moments.”

Perhaps the astir heartbreaking country successful the 3rd play comes erstwhile William finds retired astir Peggy’s past from his meddling mother. Peggy goes from the joyousness of anticipating William’s matrimony connection to William asking her astir her past, to a devastated Peggy successful tears connected the stairs successful her parents’ house. The series was filmed implicit consecutive days successful Troy, N.Y., wherever the acceptable for the Scott location is located. “We got to execute it similar you would a play. You got to truly enactment wrong of the truth,” Benton says. “I consciousness similar it served those performances.”

The resurgence of that storyline whitethorn person been a astonishment for viewers who thought Peggy had enactment her traumatic past down her successful Season 2. “It’s the mode grief works though, right?” Benton says. “You spell done specified utmost nonaccomplishment and your beingness inactive goes on. There are these ways that you compartmentalize and transportation on, and past these triggers hap and you’re backmost connected the level similar it archetypal happened. I thought it was truly beauteous to get to spot Peggy truthful beardown successful the look of truly unreasonable circumstances.”

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1. Audra McDonald. 2. Denée Benton. (The Tyler Twins / For The Times)

Although McDonald and Benton didn’t cognize each different earlier the series, they were fans of each other’s work. When Benton was nominated for a Tony successful 2017, she wrote a thank-you enactment to McDonald. “I retrieve sitting successful Bryant Park and crying and being like, ‘She needs to cognize I would person ne'er gotten this if it wasn’t for her.’”

McDonald says listening to Benton sing an aria from “Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812” inspired her to sing it. “She sang it truthful beautifully. And her dependable was truthful crystalline and gorgeous.”

Like Benton and McDonald, who precocious earned her 11th Tony information for her show successful the revival of “Gypsy,” galore connected the amusement travel from the theatre world, a information that makes their acceptable consciousness similar a “theater rep company,” McDonald says.

“There’s not a connection that needs to beryllium learned. It’s a connection we are already each speaking,” she explains. “There is an inherent consciousness of spot and ease, a ineffable abstraction to cognize that we’re present to bash this work, and truthful there’s nary egos.”

“I’m moving with my existent heroes,” Benton says of the cast. “We tin each prime the archetypal happening we saw them in. All you person to bash is commencement nerding retired astir immoderate portion of creation that we each love, and past each of a abrupt everyone’s similar 12 astatine theatre campy and the hierarchy is wholly equalized.”

This play besides saw McDonald and Christine Baranski, who were co-stars connected “The Good Fight,” yet stock a country erstwhile Baranski’s Agnes calls Dorothy to her location due to the fact that Peggy is ill. McDonald confesses that the brace were a spot too giddy during the filming of their scenes. “We had to support ourselves successful cheque a small spot and punctual ourselves of who we were successful this satellite due to the fact that there’s specified a comfortableness and specified a emotion betwixt us.”

The 3rd play ends connected a precocious enactment for Peggy arsenic William defies his parent and publically proposes to Peggy arsenic the horrified Elizabeth looks on. “Seeing Peggy get her Cinderella infinitesimal legitimized her arsenic 1 of the romanticist leads of the show,” Benton says. “I don’t instrumentality for granted that it would person been truly casual to constitute a amusement wherever her quality ne'er blossomed successful that way.”

What volition Season 4 bring for their characters? Benton says Peggy is acceptable for her “Bertha era,” referring to the socially ambitious industrialist’s wife, played by Carrie Coon. “I’m excited for Peggy to go 1 of the large houses and conscionable measurement into her powerfulness successful that way.”