From left, Magnolia Brown as Charlotte Corday, Megan Schmidt as Olympe de Gouges, Lexi Lodwig-Mutter as Marie Antoinette and Nimmi Chandwaney as Marianne Angelle make up the cast of “The Revolutionists,” opening at The Merc Playhouse on Sept. 25
Sassy characters bring history to life in Merc Playhouse production
You say you want a revolution? An upcoming full-scale production at The Merc Playhouse offers both an answer and an antidote to your yearning.
Set in 1793, “The Revolutionists” is “an irreverent girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror,” according to a press release.
The show, written by prolific American playwright Lauren Gunderson, opens Friday, Sept. 25, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 4.
Director Missi Smith — who has a storied history of portraying fierce women who refuse to behave according to patriarchal societal expectations on The Merc stage — said that although the selection of “The Revolutionists” was partly practical (small cast, all women, simple set, feasible costuming), the script itself and the play that audiences will soon see onstage is bold, witty and sassy.
“This play ticked all the boxes for what’s doable at The Merc,” Smith said. “But, the characters! Who wouldn’t want to [see] these badass, fascinating women?”
Smith said that when she first read the play, she immediately wanted to either be in it or direct it.
“I love the language and speed of contemporary comedy, so this gem, set in 1793, really grabbed me,” she said. “It blends history with a very modern sensibility through its language, humor, and hilarious characterization of these historical women. I was so in.”
The play’s premise is a fresh take on a familiar trope — cheeky subversion of authoritarianism — as playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle “try to beat back extremist insanity in 1793 Paris.”
The play is fictionalized, but three of the four characters are based on real women from the time period. The fourth is a composite character, Smith said, adding, “You don’t need a firm grasp of history to enjoy the show. I loved the script the first time I read it when I knew nothing about the French Revolution, then I had to learn some of the history to back my interpretation.”
Smith’s interpretation includes in-depth exploration of some of the meaningful moments the script presents. For example, she asked, “What is really worth losing your head over?”
Each of the characters, Smith said, “has to dive into that scary territory: what hill is she willing to die on?” A rhetorical question now, perhaps, but certainly a literal one in the late 18th century.
Smith added that existential questions like these are timeless, particularly in periods of civil discontent. “Aren’t we all being asked to dig into what our most firmly held beliefs are? What and who do we stand for?”
History through a modern lens
Smith said that playwright Gunderson “has a knack for taking pivotal moments in history and looking at them through a very modern lens, while also being very accessible and audience-friendly.”
Those who saw last year’s Readers Theater production of “The Half Life of Marie Curie” at The Merc may recognize Gunderson’s name; she wrote that play too. Different times and places, but similar themes emerge, Smith said.
“Tyrannical leaders, oppressed people, citizens rising up and deciding they’ve had quite enough, and women trying to find their way — and voice — in a shifting landscape,” Smith said.
A press release from The Merc distills the play down to its essence, but leaves room for subjectivity saying, “This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters and how we actually go about changing the world. It’s a true story. Or total fiction. Or a play about a play. Or a raucous resurrection that ends in a song and a scaffold.”
“The Revolutionists” invites discussion, Smith said, encouraging book clubs to attend. “The play doesn’t exactly whisper its questions about changing the world,” she said. “It asks them pretty loudly, and theatrically, with a lot of laughs.”
In fact, Smith said, the play is a good pick not just for book clubs, but also for “history groups, activists, feminist friends, people who love to drink wine together (or eat cake) and solve the world’s problems.”
Existential questions are one reason “The Revolutionists” will appeal to Methow Valley audiences, Smith said. “This play will make them think.”
Another compelling reason is the cast, which consists of Megan Schmidt as Olympe de Gouges, Nimmi Chandwaney as Marianne Angelle, Magnolia Brown as Charlotte Corday, and Lexi Lodwig-Mutter as Marie Antoinette.
“Audiences are going to love the actresses,” Smith said. “You won’t believe how well Megan, Nimmi, Magnolia, and Lexi work together to tell this story. We talk about ‘chemistry’ between actors in romantic situations, but we don’t talk about it nearly as much in comedy. Well, folks, there is chemistry on this stage. These actresses work boldly together, and while they are hilarious, they also go pretty deep.”
Show programs will more fully flesh out these actors’ bios, but local audiences may recall Schmidt’s portrayal of the icily elegant Baroness Schraeder in “The Sound of Music” or Auntie Em in “The Wizard of Oz;” Chandwaney’s Mrs. Julia Gibbs in “Our Town;” Brown’s Crystal in “Little Shop of Horrors,” as well as many appearances on The Merc stage as a youth actor growing up in the valley; and Lodwig-Mutter’s role as the Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker.”
Other elements of the production that will surprise and delight are the sets and costumes.
Set and costumes
“The set is more of a suggestion than a literal location,” Smith said. “There’s sort of a play-within-a-play element to the script, so are we watching the final performance, or is it still a draft in the works? Are the actors really there, or are they in the playwright’s mind, dancing around the stage in her thoughts? We’ve spent a lot of time in rehearsal discussing this puzzle and we leave it a little open for folks to interpret.”
Without giving too much away about the set, Smith shared that “Kelly Donoghue created some constructed pieces, including Madame Guillotine, and Amy Gard lent her visual art talents to painting the back wall.”
Somewhat cryptically, Smith added, “That’s another element of the production that leaves a little room to ponder”
And the costumes — oh, the costumes! They are very fun and beautiful, Smith said.
“We went pretty period with the costumes because, honestly, who doesn’t want corsets, big skirts, and a funny wig? You know Marie Antoinette put tiny ships in her wig? You will absolutely delight in what these women are wearing and the ways Lisa Doran and Sarah Jo Lightner have brought their creative ideas to the stage,” Smith said.
Smith is relishing the marriage of creative minds she’s experiencing in this production.
“This one is pure love for me,” she said. “I’m working with wonderful people. Jane Orme is my stage manager. I can’t say enough how much I love working with her. She is one of my favorite creative partners. Every rehearsal brings fantastic discussion between the cast, Jane, and myself.”
She continued, “This script! The discussion on every level — from when the [Merc] play selection committee was reading it, to now the cast diving into it. I’m in my happy place when there are thoughts and ideas that I don’t fully understand. Or history that I literally knew nothing about but had to learn.”
Smith is quite likely not alone in being unfamiliar with the complex history of the French Revolution; this play offers us an opportunity as a community to learn more about it — and to consider any possible relevance to the modern era — through theatrical interpretation.
If you go
“The Revolutionists” will play at The Merc on Sept. 25, 26, Oct. 1, 2 and 3 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) and on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. (doors at 1:30 p.m.). Ticket prices range from $20-$30, with $5 admission for students. Oct. 1 is admission by donation. The show poster warns, “Heads will roll. Language will fly. Revolutionaries will swear.” Those who wish for themselves or their children to avoid hearing f-bombs and innuendo may decide to skip this production. Visit www.mercplayhouse.org for more information.
