Interview: Kelli O'Hara on Stepping Into THE GILDED AGE

Through her performances in The King and I, Kiss Me Kate, South Pacific, and more, Kelli O'Hara is no stranger to slipping into a different era in history. Her latest performance as Aurora Fane in HBO's The Gilded Age takes audiences to the late nineteenth century.

The series follows Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moving from rural Pennsylvania to New York City after the death of her father to live with her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon). Accompanied by Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), an aspiring writer seeking a fresh start, Marian becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts and her stupendously rich neighbors (George Spector, Carrie Coon).

The series also features an extensive lineup of Broadway talent, including Michael Cerveris, Claybourne Elder, Linda Emond, Katie Finneran, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Debra Monk, Donna Murphy, Kristine Nielsen, Patrick Page, Taylor Richardson, Douglas Sills, and more.

BroadwayWorld caught up with O'Hara to discuss her role in the new series, how she researched The Gilded Age, working with the all-star theatre cast, and more.

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We've seen period pieces become so popular in recent years. Were you a fan of Julian Fellowes or any other period series before starting The Gilded Age?

I love Downton Abbey. I definitely watched that. I certainly binged through Bridgerton, which is a different period, but I love period pieces and I've been playing and acting in period pieces most of my career. I'm not sure why that is, but they certainly appeal to me. I like the, the idea of immersing myself learning about and dressing like a different era. It's sort of a fantastical way to work. I also love modern things, but I especially like this period. I love the costumes.

You mentioned that you've starred on Broadway in period pieces. How do you do the research to step into these roles that are in a different time period?

Julianne and Sonja are writing these things fictionally, but a lot of it is based on truth. I've read a lot about The Gilded Age, or any age that I'm playing. Something like The King and I was set during Civil War times, a little bit earlier than The Gilded Age. I love to learn about what was going on at the time, historically and realistically. No matter how fictional these storylines are, we're playing real people, we have to make them real. We have to make them believable and sympathetic. That's very important to know how people were living, what they were thinking. As hard as it is to wrap your head around some of those things, that's the interesting part of the work.

Since you have worked in New York city for so long, this is such a cool way to rediscover New York City through a different era. Was there anything new that you had learned that had surprised you when you were researching or filming the series?

Well, I started to walk around New York city a little differently looking at some of these old marble, extraordinarily built buildings and you think, "Oh, that's a bank or whatever it is." And you realize, "Oh, that was someone's house, just one person's house." It was built, with all of this art and this marble. It was so opulent and so over done over the top, and now of course, nobody can really afford to have that sort of real estate, except for banks. I've walked around the city appreciating when all of these things were created. They just don't build things like that anymore. I also love to learn how, as you went up town in Manhattan, it was a countryside. Central Park was the countryside. Very few little houses were sitting on their own along Fifth Avenue. That is such an interesting thing for us to realize when we live Cheek by Jowl there these days. To know that someone had their own personal big home at the time, it's really interesting to see that progression and to see where it started.

It was thrilling to see so many Broadway faces in the series. What was it like working with so many people who you must have known from working with on the stage?

Yeah, I mean, I've said this, but so many of them are my heroes, have been my heroes, theatrically and otherwise. Especially at the time, right in the thick of the pandemic, to show up at work and not only get to work with amazing people, but to see all your favorite people really, it was just a gift. We were so grateful to have that outlet and to know we were being as safe as we could be, and that we were going to be able to create some art in that time that was not just over a computer screen. It really made me want to step up my game. Every day felt like a challenge that was beautiful and cathartic. I was nervous. I was proud when things went well, but I was doing scenes across from Cynthia [Nixon] or Christine Baranski or Donna [Murphy] or Nathan [Lane] or whoever it was. I thought, "Be at your best." And that really helped me to feel like I was doing something worthwhile during this moment of great uncertainty. So I enjoyed it very much. I needed it.

Was there anyone in the series that you had always wanted to work with on stage that you had finally gotten to work with on The Gilded Age?

Oh, well, lots of them. I've been working more concert-wise with Audra [McDonald], I don't have any scenes with her, but just to know that I was in a show with Audra and being reunited with people like John Douglas Thompson. But to do quite a few scenes with Nathan Lane and Donna and the aforementioned Christine and Cynthia, that was just pretty incredible. I've always really admired them from afar. And there we were, not only working together, but in very intimate ways.

What can audiences expect from the rest of this first season of The Gilded Age?

Well, I think as you get to know everyone, I know there's a lot of people to learn, but every single one has a very specific and interesting story. Julian knows how to write that drama, so you'll get invested. And I think you can expect all of us to have some twists and turns. I think that's always interesting.

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New episodes of The Gilded Age premiere Mondays on HBO and HBO Max. Watch the trailer for the series here:

Photograph by Alison Rosa/HBO