| Opening April 12 April 6-30 at The Flea Theater |
| Duende Productions (Amy Gaither Hayes, Artistic Director/Producer) will present the New York Premiere of Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson (The Catastrophist with Marin Theatre Company; Natural Shocks with WP Theater), directed by Kathy Gail MacGowan (In The Summer Pavilion at 59E59; Kentucky Cantata at HERE) at The Flea Theater (20 Thomas Street New York, NY 10007), April 6-30. Emilie is one of History’s most undertold stories. One of the first female physicists, the 18th century Marquise du Châtelet died from complications in childbirth in the midst of disproving Newton’s Laws of Physics. Her work became the basis for Einstein’s theory of relativity, but her long-time lover Voltaire, who wrote with, for, and about her, remained more noted for her work than she did, until very recently. Lauren Gunderson’s play powerfully tells Emilie’s story with humor and love, putting her story back in her own voice and restoring the credit for the work that became the foundation for so many others’ work. The cast will feature Bonnie Black* (Strings Attached with Pulse Ensemble; Citizen Wong with Pan Asian Rep), Nigel Gore* (King Lear w/ Christopher Lloyd at Shakespeare and Company; Eliot Norton Outstanding Actor Award for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Public Theatre Boston), Amy Michelle* (America Is Hard to See at Edinburgh Fringe 2019; I Didn’t Mean to Scream So Loud at HERE), Zaven Ovian* (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern…with Huntington Theatre Company), and Erika Vetter* (North: A New Play at Dixon Place; Teenage Dick at Seattle Rep). The creative team will include Costume Design by Christina Beam (BroadwayWorld Berkshires Award Nominee for Best Costume Design; World Stage Design Emerging Artist Exhibit, Exhibited Designer; USITT/USA Prague Quadrennial Emerging Artist Exhibit, Featured Designer), Lighting Design by Sasha Lysenko, and Scenic Design by Sarah White (The Berkshire Theatre Group). *Appearing courtesy of the Actors’ Equity Association Performances will take place on Thursday, April 6 at 7:30pm, Friday, April 7 at 7:30pm, Saturday, April 8 at 7:30pm, Sunday, April 9 at 5pm, Monday, April 10 at 7:30pm, Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30pm, Thursday, April 13 at 7:30pm, Friday, April 14 at 7:30pm, Saturday, April 15 at 7:30pm, Sunday, April 16 at 5pm, Monday, April 17 at 7:30pm, Wednesday, April 19 at 7:30pm, Thursday, April 20 at 7:30pm, Friday, April 21 at 7:30pm, Saturday, April 22 at 7:30pm, Sunday, April 23 at 5pm, Monday, April 24 at 7:30pm, Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30pm, Thursday, April 27 at 7:30pm, Friday, April 28 at 7:30pm, Saturday, April 29 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, April 30 at 2pm. Tickets ($40) are available for advance purchase at www.eventbrite.com. The performance will run approximately two hours, with an intermission. Duende Productions is a female-led company which seeks to make profound, illuminating, and elegant works for the theatre that are classics-based or inspired, language driven and actor focused. www.duendeproduction.org |
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