A Poisonous Affair

Confessions of a Royal Mistress starring Brooke Bloom

Hailed by The New York Times for her "delicate, white-knuckled composure" Brooke Bloom plays Louis XIV's favorite mistress and has something very important to tell us. Madame de Montespan bares her soul (or does she?) in a new theatrical production, bringing glamour, gossip, and palace intrigue into her gripping tale. Is she a murderous villain or an innocent victim of public frenzy? Only you can be the judge, as actress Brooke Bloom stars in a never before seen one-woman play by Gonzalo X. Ruiz and based on Montespan's published memoirs, offering intimate glimpses of Versailles under Louis XIV's reign and set to the magical music of Marin Marais. Françoise Athenais Rochechouart de Montemart, Marquise de Montespan, was one of the most fascinating personalities at the court. A famously beautiful, intelligent and witty woman, she bore several children to the king as his official mistress, while setting court fashion as the leading lady of the pageant that was Versailles. Her fall from grace was equally spectacular, likely as a result of accusations against her in the most infamous court scandal of the time, accusations which were never revealed to her. Modern scholars are split on the question of her guilt or innocence. "A Poisonous Affair" imagines Montespan after leaving the court being privately told of the allegations that brought about her downfall, and reassessing her relationship to Louis XIV.

Brooke Bloom has an accomplished career in film, television and theatre. A veteran of the New York stage, Brooke won an Obie Award for Best Actress, and garnered a Best Actress Drama Desk nomination for her work in Clare Barron's Off-Broadway play You Got Older. In the TV sphere, she's had memorable turns on FX's Atlanta, FX's Kindred, Amazon's Sam Esmail series Homecoming opposite Julia Roberts and Shea Whigham, the critically acclaimed third season of The Sinner opposite Matt Bomer and Bill Pullman, and series regular stints on HBO's Gypsy, Amazon's Alpha House, and Amazon's I Know What You Did Last Summer. On the feature front, Brooke can be seen in the critically acclaimed Jeremy Hersh indie The Surrogate (SXSW), Eric Steel's Minyan which premiered at Berlin Film Festival, Anja Marquardt's She's Lost Control (two Indie Spirit Award nominations), and Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story. She can currently be seen in Noah Baumbach's White Noise. Other theatre credits include Atlantic Theater Company's Cloud Nine, David Greenspan's I'm Looking for Helen of Twelvetrees, and Signature Theatre's Everybody. Brooke resides in New York City and is repped by TalentWorks and Circle of Confusion.

Friday, March 22, 2024 at 7:30 pm
The Lounge at Hudson View Gardens, 128 Pinehurst Avenue, Manhattan
Tickets: 
Online: $35 general admission, $30 seniors, $15 students
At the door: $45/$40/$20

Saturday, March 23, 2024 at 7:30 pm
NEW VENUE! The Rockefeller Lounge at Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, 9th Floor, Manhattan
Tickets:
Prime Seating* ~ $75 ($85 at the door)
General Admission ~ $50 ($60 at the door)
Rear Seating ~ $25

* Prime tickets include front-section seating, a “Meet and Greet” with House of Time musicians and actress Brooke Bloom, a glass of champagne and some small bites after the show.