Image 1: Some people believe this is what The Porter Family Mansion looks like.
The Porter Family Mansion is one of the most infamous, impressive, and peculiar homes from its period, and possibly from all periods of all time, ever.
Designed, built and furnished by the notorious couple who lived in it, the mansion features acres of gardens and land, square feet of living space, structures, rooms, doors, windows, nails, carpet and some of the world’s finest collections of many different things. After a great tragedy led much of the mansion and its occupants to be destroyed, the property remained abandoned for many years, rumored to be cursed, haunted, and just plain nasty.
It wasn’t until decades later that several members of a Yahoo group came together to form The Porter Family Historical Trust and purchased the property from an unknown owner. Over many years, the Trust has meticulously restored the mansion to its prior splendor, and opened its doors to educate, delight and surprise guests large and small.
Some believe that there are portions of the mansion that have yet to be discovered.
A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion is temporarily closed as of 3/16/20.
Following the guidance from the CDC and recommendations from state and local public health in consultation with NPS Public Health Service officers, the Infamous Porter Family Mansion is temporarily closed. Read the press release:
Since we have shuttered our doors, the administration has created a wonderful at-home experience for you!
COVID-19 NOTICE:
March 19, 2020Due to the current, short-term, temporary Coronavirus situation, and in accordance with mandated government suggestions, the Porter Family Mansion will be closed to the public for the next thirty (30) Days. We are absolutely certain that we will be able to re-open after this mandated period and look forward to your visit at that time.
In the meantime, we encourage you to visit our online gift shop.
April 18, 2020 Due to continued and growing Covid-19 spread, and in accordance with the CDC, NIH, federal, national, local and self-appointed health officials (including board member and gastroenterologist, Dr. Belva Musselman), The Porter Family Mansion will be closed for another thirty (30) days. We are fairly certain that we will be able to re-open after this mandated period and look forward to your visit at that time.
In the meantime, we still encourage you to visit our online gift shop.
May 18, 2020Due to the catastrophic and deadly global pandemic, The Porter Family Mansion will be closed for at least another thirty days, at least. We think maybe it might be possibly possible for us to sort of possibly begin to phase in visits back in at some point in the future.
We could really use some more visits to the online gift shop about now.
June 19, 2020 There is no additional update or information at this time.
July 1, 2020 GREAT NEWS! We are THRILLED to announce that the outdoor grounds (only) of the Porter Family Mansion is now OPEN!
Taking place adjacent to the majestic mansion itself, we are THRILLED to offer guests an immersive, live, socially distanced, audio tour!You will be provided with a set of headphones that are directly connected to your tour guide, who will be safely distanced from you inside the mansion.As your guide walks through the majestic interiors, you will journey through our beautifully and thoughtfully rendered outdoor mansion recreative interpretive experience.We are certain it will feel just like you were inside!
In addition, be sure to check out our new outdoor gift shop tent!
September 1, 2020 GREATER NEWS! The interiors of the Porter Family Mansion are now REOPENED!!
To assure your safety (Thank you again, Dr. Musselman!), we will be imposing numerous protective and/or performative safety measures, including:
Reduced capacity for all tours.
Mandatory mask policy for all employees and guests.
Mandatory six (6) foot physical distance policy for all employees and guests.
Mandatory temperature checks before entrance.
Mandatory 43 question health screening before entrance.
Mandatory legal release form before entrance.
Mandatory wearing of a special sticker to indicate an approved screening.
Mandatory “no touching” policy. This includes contact with both living and inanimate items.
Plexiglass.
Automatic hand sanitizer dispensers installed in every room. (Patrons should keep a safe distance from dispensers and dispensers should not be touched.)
Doorways equipped with misters that will spray a continuous, safe, non-toxic, anti-viral solution (Please contact us if you have a peanut or bleach allergy.)
Installation of medical grade HEPA filters in our air circulation system.
Enhanced presence of fans to boost air circulation and turbulence.
Ultraviolet light installed in all rooms.
Tours will be shortened to under 15 minutes.
All bathrooms in the mansion will be closed. Guests will have access to socially distanced, open air latrines installed in the side garden.Please bring your own sanitary items.
Tour guides may be contained within hermetically sealed plastic orbs upon special request.
Also, certain rooms unable to allow for proper social distancing will be permanently discontinued from the tour.
All Gift Shops are super open!
October 2, 2020 – Once again, the interiors of The Porter Family Mansion will be closed to the public. Our outdoor tours, and gift shop, remain open at this time.
October 21, 2020 – Due to social distancing challenges in our outdoor areas, the outdoor audio tour has been moved to Irvington, NY, along the Hudson River.
November 15, 2020 – In anticipation of the massive post-Thanksgiving surge and continued unwillingness of the general public to adhere to common sense guidelines, all physical manifestations Porter Family Mansion, even the gift shop, will be closed to the public until herd immunity.
While we are deeply, deeply sad, and the pandemic has pushed us into existential crisis, we are THRILLED to offer guests a new and safe way to experience the Porter Family Mansion from the comfort of their own home.We call it The Porter Family Mansion…At Home.
Ticket buyers will receive an exquisitely designed representation of the mansion delivered through the mail, filled with sanitized-hand-selected artifacts and educational materials. You will also be provided with an extremely professionally recorded audio tour, featuring one of our highly entertaining and knowledgeable guides.
It may not be like you’re actually inside, but it’s the closest thing we have.
To purchase your Porter Family Mansion… At Home Tour Experience, .
One Mansion in a box shipped to you via mail. On shipment, you will be emailed an exclusive link to your highly theatrical, streaming, audio tour, led by one of our signature guides. (Both are meant to be enjoyed simultaneously.) The experience has been designed for ideal enjoyment for groups of 1-6 people. Internet access will be needed to enjoy the tour.
I Will Verify Your Tickets Now
A Tour Through The Garden
Producer: Seaview Productions
Seaview Productions
Originally founded as a Broadway production company in 2012, Seaview is a multi-platform media company that is disrupting and reshaping the paradigm of commercial storytelling. We are ferociously committed to challenging industry standards by taking a radical approach to what we make and how we make it. Amplifying new and diverse voices, developing stories not traditionally told, and welcoming audiences who do not usually find themselves comfortable or invited into that space informs our core identity and guides our strategic decision making.
Seaview, which develops and produces shows on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and on London’s West End, most recently produced Ratatouille the Tik Tok Musical, preceded by Jeremy O. Harris’ groundbreaking 12-time Tony® Award-nominated Slave Play and the 4-time Tony® Award-nominated Jake Gyllenhaal-and Tom Sturridge-led double bill Sea Wall / A Life on Broadway. Upcoming productions include the Broadway-bound musical Lempicka, helmed by Tony®Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin and a new play from Jeremy O. Harris. In late 2020, Seaview also launched a new vertical, Seaview Pictures, to work with our growing community of artists to develop new content in this space.
Written by: Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
6’6”, is a San Francisco-based playwright who often writes about misfits, biology, apocalypse, and people struggling against large systems. His works include the plays boom (TCG’s most produced play 2009-10), BOB: A Life in 5 Acts, The Totalitarians, Hunter Gatherers, The Making of a Great Moment, A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion with Tour Guide Weston Ludlow Londonderry, T.I.C. (Trenchcoat In Common), Colorado, Litter: The True Story of the Framingham Dodecutuplets, and the musical Fall Springs with composer/co-lyricist Niko Tsakalakos. His work has been seen off-Broadway and across the world including at Ars Nova, Woolly Mammoth, Seattle Rep, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Southern Rep, Barrington Stage Company, Kitchen Dog, Merrimack Repertory and in the Bay Area at Z Space, A.C.T., Encore Theatre, Killing My Lobster, Marin Theatre Company, Impact Theatre, and The Bay Area Playwrights Festival. His plays have received numerous awards including the Will Glickman Prize, The Stavis Award, The ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, among others. Peter is an alumna of New Dramatists and was the Mellon/HowlRound Playwright in Residence at Z Space in San Francisco 2013-18. He holds a degree in Theater and Biology from Brown and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He likes to promote himself online at www.peternachtrieb.com.
Directed by: Jason Eagan
Jason Eagan
is thrilled to return to A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion with Tour Guide Weston Ludlow Londonderry by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, having directed the world premiere stage production for Z Space, alongside Artistic Director Lisa Steindler. Eagan works as both a producer and director, and is the Founding Artistic Director of Ars Nova, a not-for-profit organization in New York City committed to discovering, developing and launching artists in the early stages of their professional careers. Throughout his time building the company, he has had the great fortune of supporting thousands of artists, whose work has now expanded across the globe. Over his career he has enjoyed affiliations with Z Space, New York Theatre Workshop, Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, England’s Improbable theater company, Disney Theatrical Group, Los Angeles Opera and San Francisco Opera among many others.
Box and Graphics Designed by: dots
dots
We are a design collective based in New York City specializing in designing environments for narratives, performances and experiences. Hailing from Colombia, South Africa and Japan, we are Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Andrew Moerdyk and Kimie Nishikawa. We offer expertise in multidisciplinary practices ranging from architecture, theater design, graphic design and film. We approach every project with diversity of thought and burning curiosity and, above all, we believe in the value of the whole being greater than the sum of its individual parts. www.designbydots.com
Sound Design by : Mikaal Sulaiman
Mikaal Sulaiman
Originally from Rochester, New York, Mikaal currently resides in Los Angeles. Most recently he was the Creative Director and Editor of a short film called Laying Flowers.:.Setting Fires in collaboration with his brother, Amir Sulaiman. It is a visual poem short film featuring Amir’s poetry with cinematography from Michael Cambio Fernandez of Black is King and Burial of Kojo notoriety. Prior to that he served as Director and Editor of an HBO pilot called Subverse shot in 5 cities in Iran. Subverse is a world travel show that uses a culture’s poetry as a lens to understand and appreciate their community. He developed the project with his brother, Amir Sulaiman – Executive Producer & Writer on Ramy, and is in the final stages of getting it sold. He continues to develop scripts and projects under his production company Moors Noor Media. Mikaal attended the University of the Arts receiving a BFA and later studied the Jacque Lecoq approach to avant garde theatre at the London International School of Performing Arts. He is an award winning Sound Designer & Composer who works on and off Broadway. Mikaal also hosts a podcast, Black Enso, which can be found on most podcast platforms.
Broadway: Tootsie (Julie) TONY Nomination, Spongebob Squarepants (Sandy), Wicked (Elphaba) Spring Awakening (original cast). Theater favorites: Mack & Mabel (Encores) Tick, Tick…Boom! (Keen Company) Sundown, Yellow Moon (The WP), The Wildness (Ars Nova), Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of1812 (American Repertory Theater), The Threepenny Opera (Atlantic Theater). Television: NCIS New Orleans, Dynasty, Bull, Instinct, Elementary, The Code, The Good Fight. LaGuardia Arts High School and Vassar alum. lillicooper.com @lilcoopz
Actor: Danny Scheie
Danny Scheie
has played principal roles, (including in world premieres by playwrights Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, Amy Freed, Daniel Handler, James Magruder, Dan Le Franc, Danny Hoch, Lanford Wilson, Migdalia Cruz, Doug Holsclaw and Charles Mee) at Berkeley Rep, South Coast Rep, DC’s Arena Stage and Folger Theater, The Old Globe in San Diego, Yale Rep, American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, Trinity Rep in Providence RI, Arizona Theater Company, Asolo Rep in Florida, Actors Theater of Louisville, Pasadena Playhouse, A Noise Within in L.A, Two River Theater in New Jersey, Merrimack Repertory Theater, and in the Bay Areas at Theaterworks, Marin Theater Company, The Marsh, San Jose Rep and thirteen seasons each with California Shakespeare Theater (where he last played Richard III ) and Shakespeare Santa Cruz (including three seasons as Artistic Director). He has been directed by Jason Eagan, Frank Galati, Daniel Fish, Liesl Tommy, John Rando, Tony Taccone, Les Waters, Aaron Posner, Nicholas Martin, Molly Smith, David Ivers, Lillian Groag, Mark Rucker, Sean Daniels, Jonathan Moscone, Michael Edwards, Sharon Ott, Art Manke, Kirsten Brandt, and Eric Ting. He has thrice received the Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Leading Actor; twice for Supporting Actor and once for directing. He has also received LA Dramalogues, the New Jersey Tony as well as Ovation, Helen Hayes (DC), and Robbie (LA) nominations. He received his Equity card playing Damis in Moliere’s Tartuffe opposite Roy Cohn, Lucille Bluth, and Bride of Chucky (aka Ron Leibman, Jessica Walter, and Jennifer Tilly respectively) at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Television credits include Nash Bridges (CBS) and Almost Family (Fox). He holds a professorship at UC Santa Cruz, a BA from Indiana University, and a PhD from University of California, Berkeley where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on Shakespeare’s Comedy.
Special Thanks
Rachel Ackerman, Jana Shea, Oliver Roth, Anne Gordon, Taylor Williams, Dean DeNegris
