February 20, 2023
Provided Image/Kory Aversa
'The Manor,' a two-act play inspired by the real-life 1929 murder-suicide at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, will return to Greystone Hall in West Chester for two weeks of interactive performances.
True crime lovers can visit Greystone Hall in West Chester for the chance to take part in an interactive murder mystery show inspired by a real-life murder-suicide in Beverly Hills more than 90 years ago.
The wedding venue will once again host "The Manor," a two-act play about murder, mayhem and political power written by Katherine Bates. The play is performed annually at the historic Greystone Mansion in southern California, where the real events took place, but is returning to Chester County's Greystone Hall from March 2 through March 12.
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Bates' play centers on the wealthy MacAlisters during the height of the Jazz Age as their son Sean prepares to marry. The MacAlister family is based on the real-life Doheny family, once one of the richest in America. Edward Doheny Sr., an oil baron, gave his son Ned the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills as a wedding present.
In the years that it took for Ned and his wife to develop and move into the mansion, Doheny became enveloped in a political scandal, accused of bribing the U.S. secretary of the interior in exchange for owning federal land in California.
In 'The Manor,' the MacAlisters host a wedding reception for their son before the family becomes enveloped in political scandal leading to the murder of one of their own.
The allegations were part of the Teapot Dome scandal during the Harding administration, though Doheny was eventually acquitted. Just five months after Ned and his family moved into the Greystone Mansion, Ned was found shot and killed in his home in what appeared to be a murder-suicide by his friend and aide Hugh Plunket, according to Friends of Greystone.
For the performance, guests will walk around the mansion as the narrative is told from the perspective of 12 members of the family. Light refreshments — including wedding cake — will be served during the show's intermission.
Performances will be held on March 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 at 7 p.m., and March 5 and 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $65 per person and can be purchased on Greystone Hall's official website.
March 2-12, 2023
2 p.m. and 7 p.m. showtimes | $65
Greystone Manor
2450 Aram Ave., West Chester, PA 19380
