Lady Dunmore, New Rev City Program Arrive in CW

By Amber Lester Sunday, May 02, 2010

Actress Mamie Gummer’s appearance in Williamsburg closely mirrored that of her character, Lady Dunmore.

Just as Colonial Williamsburg’s interpreters gushed over the arrival of the English lady, audience members marveled over Gummer’s regal carriage, pitch-perfect British accent and a profile identical to that of her famous mother — actress Meryl Streep.

Gummer performed twice Saturday on a small stage in the Governor’s Palace gardens in a special Revolutionary City scene called “Lady Dunmore Prepares for the Ball.” More than 1,000 people endured sweltering heat to attend her two performances, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., many curious to see if the actress shared her mother’s renowned talent for embodying characters from the past.

Almost as soon as she took the stage, audience members could be heard whispering, “She looks just like her! She sounds just like her!” Indeed, her peaches-and-cream complexion, long nose and cornsilk-colored hair looked exactly like that of her mother around the time she starred in “Kramer vs. Kramer.”

Gummer was the first actor invited to participate in Colonial Williamsburg’s new “Artist in Residence” program, which brings stage and screen actors to the living history museum to perform in short live theater shows. Prior to the show’s start, Bill Weldon, CW’s manager of public history, told the audience the foundation hopes to host artists-in-residence two to three times a year over the next few years.

Gummer visited Colonial Williamsburg once before, while filming HBO’s miniseries, “John Adams,” in which she played the president’s daughter-in-law. She has also appeared alongside her mother in “Evening,” in Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock” and on Broadway in “Les Liasons Dangeureuses.”

CW Director of Marketing Sally McConnell said Gummer enjoyed her second visit to Williamsburg and told McConnell she was impressed with its caliber of research and approach to interpretation. “She was saying she can think of so many of her colleagues who would appreciate this experience,” McConnell said.

The scene portrayed the days leading up to the Revolution from the perspective of the ruling British governor and his family. Lady Charlotte Murray, the wife of Virginia’s governor John Murray, arrived in the colony in 1774. She was greeted as a celebrity and a ball was held in her honor; Gummer’s scene portrayed the preparation for the ball.

In the scene, Gummer’s Lady Dunmore asks Elizabeth Randolph, wife of Speaker of the House of Burgesses Peyton Randolph, to fill her in on the members of the house who will attend the ball. Through their gossip, Lady Dunmore learns about the political leanings and leadership abilities of famous Virginians, from Thomas Jefferson to Patrick Henry to Richard Lee. Once Randolph departs, Lady Dunmore is joined by her husband, who expresses uncertainty about his leadership in the wake of the Boston Tea Party in the north. After her first hint of the revolution to come, Dunmore closes the play predicting stormy skies ahead.

McConnell says the audience members enjoyed seeing a scene depicting the life of the British rulers in Virginia. “People said it was so exciting to see history interpreted through a different lens,” she said.

While in Virginia, Gummer stayed at the Williamsburg Inn, where she also participated in a “Royal Tea” with 160 paid guests. She also traveled by carriage from the Inn to the Governor’s Palace, with the parade route lined by tourists and interpreters alike.