A Pre-Birthday Treat

I've long been a lover of all-things-British, most especially their original television programming.  I, Claudius, Upstairs Downstairs, The Forstye Saga are all favorites of mine.  And of course I got into the phenomenon that was Downton Abbey.  I was excited to check out the first episode in 2010 because I was a huge fan of Gosford Park, written by the same screenwriter, Julian Fellowes.  (Side note: Gosford Park was on cable over the weekend and I watched it yet again.  Gosh, it is still simply fabulous!)

So I followed all the ups and downs of the Crawley family, swooned over Cousin Matthew, ugly cried over Lady Sybil, hissed at O'Brien and Thomas, giggled at poor Molesley, and despaired over the trials and tribulations of Anna and Mr. Bates.  I was really sad when the show ended, though actually also relieved.  I couldn't imagine how they could keep the quality up indefinitely, so six seasons seemed like plenty to me.  Now that I think of it, it may be the last scripted show I watched during its broadcast time (as opposed to DVRing it and watching it later).  I'll have to ruminate on why that is...

Downton Abbey has only been gone for about a year, but it still occupies a happy place in my heart (and Roku viewing - when depressed, I will run an episode to cheer myself) and I was excited to hear that they would be bringing an exhibition of the show's costumes and sets to NYC for a brief visit.  Thankfully, they extended the brief visit and I finally got to check it out last weekend (I considered it the first in my pre-birthday treats).

You had to buy a timed ticket to see the exhibition and I picked an afternoon time that would make it possible for me to get to a friend's new play reading afterwards.  When I arrived on Saturday, I was disappointed to see how long the line was for my entry time.  According to the security guard, there were so many walk-ups that day, that it made every timed ticket late.  Well, that didn't seem right to me - if you walk up, shouldn't you have to stand in line behind the people who bought tickets in advance?  I don't know.  All I know is it was chilly in line and we had to wait over 45 minutes after our scheduled time to even get into the exhibit.  Plus, they had told us to arrive early in our confirmation emails, so the wait was actually longer than 45 minutes! I hoped I wouldn't have to cut my visit short to be able to make it to my friend's reading.

You walk in to the exhibit (which is housed in the old Lee's Art Store building - does anyone else miss Lee's?  I used to shop there for my nephew, who used to love to draw and paint) and you get another small line before hearing a spiel from one of the docents.  You then walk into a small anteroom, where you hear Carson describe how the house is set up.  It's rather like a Disney video, or going to the Freedom Tower, with all the video interaction that's throughout the space.  Once you've heard Carson's piece, you're free to roam around the building.  The bottom floor is the servant's area, the next floor is the Crawley family area, then the top floor is a costume display.

Each floor is filled with interactive programming, costumes, set pieces, placards describing both the show and the real-life time period.  There are videos playing everywhere, so you can see clips from the show; the theme music also plays throughout.  I remembered a lot of the clothes, which was fun.  I guess it took me about an hour and a half to walk through, plus I got out in time to make it to my friend's reading, thankfully.  So I found the exhibit a very interesting place and I'm awfully glad I went.  I probably could've spent more time there, had I not felt a little pressured because of the time.  After you're done touring at your own speed, you then head down a back staircase and end up in the gift shop.  Very Disneyesque.  There were some cute things in the gift shop and I did pick up a few souvenirs.  I also entered my mom into a contest to win a trip to the real Downton Abbey (aka Highclere Castle).  I hope she wins!  Maybe she'll take me!  I'll put a lot of photos below - I hope you enjoy them.  I know I enjoyed taking them, and I'll probably be increasing my repeat viewings of the show, just to get back into the spirit...