January 14 – February 11, 2023
Playing at the Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre
“ a play that is wonderfully wild and raucous … It’s a wild ride… Listen closely, … hang on tight.” —Cincinnati Enquirer
4 Badass Women. 1 Room. Don’t lose your head! A true story. Or total fiction. A play about a play. Or a raucous resurrection… that ends in a song and a scaffold. Playwright Olympe De Gouge, Spy Marianne Angelle, Assassin Charlotte Corday, and ribbon-loving Queen Marie Antoinette hang out, murder Marat, lose their heads, and try to beat back the extremist insanity of 1793 Paris. The Revolutionists is a fiery, dream-tweaked comedy about art, activism, legacy, compatriots, chosen sisters—and how to change the world.
SPECIAL NOTE: The 2022-23 Theatre Season in Fort Collins marks OpenStage Theatre & Company’s 50th Anniversary and Bas Bleu Theatre Company’s 30th year. Fort Collins’ two award-winning local theatres will collaborate in celebrating Women Theatre Artists with complementary presentations of feminist activist Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists. In October Bas Bleu’s Readers’ Theatre rendition will examine the process of interpreting the intricacies of Gunderson’s play and its characters. Then in January, OpenStage will present the fully-staged production of The Revolutionists. Audiences will have the unique opportunity to witness all the pieces of the dramatic puzzle come together!
Donations made during this production will benefit Planned Parenthood.
CONTENT WARNING: Adult themes, language, and situations. Questions about content? Contact OpenStage at 970.484.5237.
The Revolutionists is about four very real women who lived boldly in France during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror (1793-1794). Olympe De Gouges is desperately trying to write the perfect revolutionary play for her generation. Charlotte Corday is determined to become an assassin. Prophetic Marie Antoinette is happy to chat, and snack, and would love it if the play were about her. Marianne Angelle, the voice of reason, gathers intelligence to send home to the Caribbean. This searing, comedic quartet depicts four badass women who fight for the equality of all women and for the love of their country.
OpenStage’s Essential Season features rich, fully imagined theatrical experiences to captivate your heart and mind. The Revolutionists will be performed at the Lincoln Center Magnolia Theatre. The Magnolia Theatre is a proscenium theatre with 226 seats, ample production and support space, and top-of-the-line audience amenities. Address: 417 West Magnolia Street, Fort Collins, CO 80521.
SPECIAL NOTE: The 2022-23 Theatre Season in Fort Collins marks OpenStage Theatre & Company’s 50th Anniversary and Bas Bleu Theatre Company’s 30th year. Fort Collins’ two award-winning local theatres will collaborate in celebrating Women Theatre Artists with complementary presentations of feminist activist Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists. In October Bas Bleu’s Readers’ Theatre rendition will examine the process of interpreting the intricacies of Gunderson’s play and its characters. Then in January, OpenStage will present the fully-staged production of The Revolutionists. Audiences will have the unique opportunity to witness all the pieces of the dramatic puzzle come together!
Donations made during this production will benefit Planned Parenthood.
Lauren Gunderson has been one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list twice including 2019/20. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and John Gassner Award for Playwriting, and a recipient of the Mellon Foundation’s Residency with Marin Theatre Company. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University, and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. She co-authored the Miss Bennet plays with Margot Melcon, and her play The Half-Life of Marie Curie is available on Audible.com. Her work is published in Playscripts (I and You; Exit Pursued By A Bear; The Taming and Toil And Trouble), Dramatists Play Service (The Revolutionists; The Book of Will; Silent Sky; Bauer, Natural Shocks, The Wickhams, and Miss Bennet) and Samuel French (Emilie). Her picture book Dr. Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon is available from Two Lions/Amazon. She is currently developing musicals with Ari Afsar, Dave Stewart, and Joss Stone. LaurenGunderson.com
