XXXV. It's an undisputed fact that the Gilded Age was an era (to some) of unbridled excess - provided that one had the money of course. Those with a place in society and those that wanted it were locked in a battle to see who could climb higher up the social ladder and exert a greater influence on just what made up a new emerging "American aristocracy".   The grand ball was in many ways the battlefield upon which these social skirmishes were enacted.  In this show, we'll take a look at just what going to the ball meant in the Gilded Age (whether you were invited or not) and just what it was like once you got there.  The show delves into several of the Gilded Age's most famous balls, from Alva Vanderbilt's costume ball of 1883 to Mrs. Astor's annual Opera Ball to the ultimately disastrous ball thrown by James Hazen Hyde in 1905.  We'll look at the fashion and the jewels and share some examples of what happened when it all went careening off the rails.