South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
‘DOWNTON’
The exhibit, which debuted in 2017 in New York, is also timely: Filming is underway on a new “Downton Abbey” movie, set to be released in September 2019. But don’t expect the exhibit to spoil anything, says Zaller, adding that the show opened before “Downton Abbey” writer-creator Julian Fellowes finished writing the script.
“Downton Abbey: The Exhibition” is broken into nine zones, steering museumgoers through the old habitats: Mr. Carson’s office, the servants’ dining hall, Lady Mary’s bedroom and Mrs. Patmore’s kitchen, each preserved with the cutlery and letters that viewers last saw on TV.
Here’s our abbreviated walkthrough of “Downton Abbey: The Exhibition.”
Who’s who at Downton
The first section introduces “Downton Abbey” characters on rows of vertical LCD screens, blended in with period gadgets. Pick up the antique telephone, and Mr. Carson may answer in his gruff baritone, or the Dowager Countess will toss off one of her Luddite zingers (“I couldn’t have electricity in the house. I wouldn’t sleep a wink”). Open a cupboard drawer in this room, and you may find Anna’s arrest warrant for the murder of Mr. Green.
Care more for the period than its characters? Scattered throughout the exhibit are references Sixty costumes are on display in "Downton Abbey: The Exhibition."
to World War I and the Roaring Twenties. Lady Mary’s bedroom, for example, dispatches this piece of women’s history: Until 1926, illegitimate children born into wealthy homes were simply given away to “erase the shame on their family,” one card reads.
The servant rooms
The feeling of standing inside a well-preserved time capsule grows more acute inside the Servants’ Quarters (“Come in, come in,” presses Mrs. Hughes’
hologram, frantically waiving her arms). A folded newspaper lays on the long wood table, and on the far wall hangs the old bell board, spontaneously clanging with a summons from the Crawley family upstairs. Another room, Mrs. Patmore’s kitchen, appears to be preparing for dinner service, with copper pots “steaming” on the stove (really a smoke machine), sliced produce on the counter and rows of ceramic bowls.
Fancy a job toiling in this realm of gossiping, live-in waitstaff? “We’re hiring,” reads a sign hanging inside a room of touchscreen panels, offering a 10-question survey designed to test your “Downton Abbey” mettle. (“Your employer summons you to the library, then keeps you waiting outside for half an hour. What would you do?” one question reads.)
Zaller, standing at another panel, is recommended for the butler job. My results? I’m “regrettably unsuited” to serve Lady and Lord Crawley’s meals at Downton Abbey. Oh, well. How the other half lives
Mr. Carson’s annoyed baritone can be heard inside the main dining room, explaining the etiquette of how spoons are served. (“One may talk of serious things [at the dinner table], but stay away from business or any mention of money,” he warns. Fine advice.)
The room is flanked by stately portraits of royalty, save Anthony van Dyck’s King Charles I painting, which Zaller says couldn’t be removed from England’s Highclere Castle, where the show was filmed. Lady Mary’s room, meanwhile, stings with the memory of scandal: A touchscreen plays a clip recalling the late Kemal Pamuk, who died midcoitus in bed with Lady Mary.
The fashion
The largest section by far, a sprawling display of “Downton Abbey” costumes drew the most attention during the exhibit’s New York run, Zaller says. Behind glass cases are Lady Sybil’s antique-gold bodice and blue pantaloons and Lady Crawley’s terra-cotta silk summer coat, Lady Edith’s wedding dress (two of them) and Lady Mary’s silver flapper-style evening gown.
“Downton Abbey: The Exhibition” will open Nov. 10 at CityPlace, 575 S. Rosemary Ave., in West Palm Beach. The show is on view 10 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through April (including holidays). Admission is $35. Call 866-811-4111 or go to DowntonExhibition.com.