Spending an evening at the theater is the solution to all of life’s problems, and experts agree. But while immersing oneself in the world of a play for a couple of hours can seem impossible for those who live busy lives, it’s a breath of fresh air once the curtain lifts.
The San Diego region, with numerous entertainment proposals, is no exception to this. Locally, the theater remains as one of the most beloved choices preferred by people looking to spend a memorable night out.
Plays such as “The Revolutionists”, a comedy written by Lauren Gunderson, and currently on stage at Moxie Theater in El Cajon, are proof that San Diego’s theater scene is ripe with great shows.
In “The Revolutionists” four actresses capture the spectators’ eyes, not only through the amazing costumes from the French Revolution period, by imposing and transmitting with energy the stories of women who by obligation remained silent during the French Revolution.
The women portrayed on stage are Olympe de Gouges, a playwright, who, accompanied by assassin Charlotte Corday, activist Marianne Angelle and former Queen of France Marie Antoinette, share in a very particular way their realities through emotions of struggle, passion, leadership and complicity.
“The Revolutionists” is directed by Jennifer Eve Thorn, who has directed more than a dozen theater shows and was nominated for San Diego Magazine’s Woman of the Year Award in 2013.
The Revolutionists is a play that snatches laughter and some tears from audience members and also invites the spectator to give themselves a chance to change the historical beliefs and installed perspective they’ve had for years.
Jo Anne Glover, who plays Olympe De Gouge, a feminist writer who drafted a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen during the late 18th Century, is the Co-Founder and Development Manager of Programs at Moxie Theatre. She has worked on and off-Broadway, in Los Angeles and regionally. She has also worked as a producer in New York and Los Angeles.
Cashae Monya plays Marianne Angelle in The Revolutionists. Marianne Angelle is a fictional character who represents the Caribbean slaves that traveled to France to press for independence and a formal abolition of slavery. With great stage presence, Monya takes ownership of her character and surprises with a multifaceted performance.
So much has been said about Marie Antoinette that it is inevitable not to include her such a narrative. And to represent her story, Lisel Gorrel-Getz’s performance makes the difference when telling the story of the last queen of France, who was convicted of high treason by the Revolutionary Court and executed by guillotine on the Place de la Revolution in 1793.
Actress Samantha Ginn channels her energy into her character Charlotte Corday, a murderer who does not fear the punishment of her crime, the murder of Jean Paul Marat, because she considers it an act for a greater good, the security of the French people.
This is how visionary women, brave artists, and activists converge in a city like Paris, a city thirsty of theater. So the story focuses on De Gouges trying to write a new play as she narrates the life of these four women who give life to the French motto: equality, liberty and fraternity.
The opportunity to enjoy this fun play is available until Sunday June 25th, with presentations at 7 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Moxie Theater is located in 6663 El Cajon Blvd Suite N, in San Diego.
