New York’s opera war

A gilded age adds glitter and anger

When you call a show “The Gilded Age,” you sort of set expectations.
The first season (shown here) was lush; as the second one starts (9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, on HBO), those expectations are raised. “It’s ‘How do you get bigger?’” Bob Shaw, the production designer, said in a virtual press forum.
Julian Fellowes, the show’s creator and producer, had an answer: You start the story on Easter Sunday.
After a quiky opening – lots of bonnets coming out of boxes and onto carefully coiffed heads – we see masses stroll down two avenues to the church. Kasia Walicka Maimone, the costume designer, recalls her reaction: “‘Oh my God, Julian is putting us through this incredible exercise.’” Read more…