“Stand back, I’m about to act,” Ashlie Atkinson, who plays gossipy Mrs. Fish on HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” jokes as she prepares for another take of a luncheon scene that finds her giving side-eye to Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy), the grande dame of the upper crust.
It’s a sunny October morning, and Atkinson is surrounded by dozens of women in elaborate gowns, as well as tuxedo-clad butlers. Her stately surroundings look like something out of a John Singer Sargent painting. That’s fitting because the scene unfolds at The Ledges, the oceanfront estate of the Cushing family, members of Newport’s social scene when it was the summer destination for the old-money elite and robber barons that Sargent immortalized. It’s one of several historical locations to feature prominently on “The Gilded Age” since the show began in 2022. For the creators, the Rhode Island resort, which has the highest concentration of homes from the era that lends the show its title, was vital to the success of “The Gilded Age.”
“We couldn’t do this show without Newport,” says David Crockett, an executive producer on “The Gilded Age.” “The stately homes from the period that are still in New York are all hotels or embassies or schools. Inside, they’ve been modernized, so it would cost a fortune to renovate them.”
That means that Newport palaces like The Elms, Marble House and Château-sur-Mer don’t just appear on the show as opulent summer getaways; they also double as the bedrooms, ballrooms and studies of the New York City mansions where much of the show takes place. These houses are mostly operated as museums, preserved as they were when the Astors and the Vanderbilts ruled over high society. They serve as stunning backdrops, helping “The Gilded Age” bring a period of history renowned for its ostentatious displays of wealth to life on-screen.
“I can point my camera in any direction in these locations and look like a genius,” quips Deborah Kampmeier, one of the show’s directors. “There’s not a bad angle at any of these places.”
The showrunners have worked closely with the Preservation Society of Newport County, custodian of more than a dozen historic residences, to get the kind of access that’s rarely granted to film crews. The city has been rewarded by a boost in tourism, as “The Gilded Age” has increased interest in the estates that serve as the setting for the show’s social climbing and backstabbing. To meet demand, the Preservation Society started offering location tours three years ago for $250 a ticket; they sold out in minutes.
“We’ve had so many people, many of them from out of state, who come by and say, ‘Oh, this is the room where Bertha Russell hosted that party,’” says Trudy Coxe, the Preservation Society’s executive director.
Coxe credits the show, which started shooting during COVID, with helping the organization maintain the houses at a time when tourism had shut down.
“It saved our bacon,” Coxe says. “We were dying on the vine, because nobody was traveling and everybody was hunkered down. That meant no visitors, and that’s how we make our money, so the revenue from the rentals to HBO helped us get through that period.”
After the pandemic lifted and tourism returned, “The Gilded Age” learned to work around Newport’s busy summer season, when the tiny resort town welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors, as well as countless weddings. Instead, the show makes a point of filming its Newport scenes in the fall when the weather is still mild but the crowds have started to disperse.
“Our shooting schedule keeps shifting, but we know we have to make that piece of the puzzle work,” says Bob Shaw, the show’s production designer. “We’re always on the phone with the Preservation Society, figuring out when we need the different locations because they have a wedding reception on hold.”
“The Gilded Age” more firmly established Rhode Island as a hub for production. The state offers a 30% incentive but competes with larger states like New York and neighboring Massachusetts for films and shows. It has managed to attract some large productions, with James L. Brooks’ “Ella McCay” and “Hocus Pocus 2” recently heading to the Ocean State. A study commissioned by the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce found that every dollar in tax credit returned $5.44 of economic activity. The third season of “The Gilded Age,” for example, reportedly accounted for $27 million in production spending in the state.
Steven Feinberg, executive director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, said the state pursued “The Gilded Age” for more than a decade, following the show as it was first set up at NBC and then later when it moved to HBO. At one point, Feinberg and Coxe convinced “The Gilded Age” creator Julian Fellowes to visit Newport’s mansions, setting up a candlelight dinner at Marble Head, complete with a harpist. After wrapping up a tour, Feinberg turned to Fellowes to get his thoughts.
“It’s one thing to read about these houses,” Fellowes told him. “But nothing compares to seeing them in the flesh.”