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Synopsis
A retired business titan Addison Spratt and his wife Eleonore host an opulent pre-gala cocktail party at their Bethesda mansion to celebrate their son Edwin’s impending confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. As the liquor flows, the inebriated couple begin to unravel, casually divulging unsettling details about Edwin’s adoption and the draconian measures they took to “correct” what they perceived as childhood softness. Their bigotry, political arrogance, and obsession with legacy spill out in increasingly absurd and biting exchanges, exposing the rot beneath their polished façade. Yet, in true old-guard fashion, they quickly regroup – rewriting their own history before their guests’ eyes – confident that wealth, influence, and power will once again insulate their family from consequence. Darkly comic and unflinching, the play skewers privilege, hypocrisy, and the machinery of reputation that sustains America’s ruling class.
Inspiration Set
Playwright Note
The wealthy and the elite do not win through subtlety but through certainty, a conviction in their superiority, their insulation from consequence, and their ability to have even obvious deception dismissed, reframed, or forgotten. Addison and Eleonore Spratt are stewards of that corruption, curating and rehearsing power in real time, toasting their cruelty, polishing their prejudices, and adjusting the lighting whenever the mask slips. What fascinates is not their arrogance but their belief in inevitability, a chilling confidence that reputation, money, and political influence will always recalibrate in their favor, allowing them to contradict themselves, expose hypocrisy, and reveal violence without consequence because power depends not on truth but on narrative control. They also embody a deeper dynamic in which manipulation thrives on aspiration and insecurity, cultivating desire in others to belong and rise, and recruiting defenders from those with the least to gain by offering myths more durable than facts. The play is darkly comic because absurdity often best reveals systems that feel immovable, using laughter as a release while asking what it means when deception can stand in plain view and still prevail, and whether the more unsettling truth is not that the Spratts will succeed, but that we expect them to.
Production History
None to date.
Development History
OLD MONEY received a public development reading in New York, New York on Wed, Apr 16th, 2025 as part of New Ambassadors Theatre Company's Play Development Lab. The cast featured Carole Monferdini as Eleonore Spratt and Christopher Borg as Addison Spratt.
Awards/Recognition
None to date.
Reviews/Recommendations
None to date.
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REMINDER: No presentation or production of OLD MONEY, in whole or in part, is allowed unless permission is granted by the playwright or his designated agents.