By Eva Trieger
LA MESA, California — While our current political climate is reminiscent of Saturday Night Live’s Bass-o-matic, where an entire bass is tossed into a blender, it still can’t quite compare to the Reign of Terror that accompanied the French Revolution in 1793-1794. With radical groups rounding up the citizenry and imprisoning, executing and persecuting at will, entropy was the order of the day.
Lamplighter Community Theatre celebrates its 86th season with Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists. The story follows four very strong women all of whom share a vision of a democratic home of liberté, égalité, fraternité. However, before they can achieve these lofty goals, they must stand up to the radical Jacobins who are led by Robespierre and Marat.
The play is produced by Pam Stompoly, artistic director and costume designer, and directed by Katrina Peterson. The audience is first introduced to writer Olympe de Gouges (Adina Silva), who is suffering from writer’s block, but passionate about playwriting. Her friend, Marianne (Nicki Barnes) is on a mission to win rights for Haitians who’ve been enslaved and mistreated by French colonizers. She is petitioning de Gouges to use her pen to write political pamphlets to spread the word. When Charlotte Corday (Jenna Pekny) joins the women in the writer’s garret, she boldly announces she plans to stab Marat. She fears that his radicalism will ruin the Revolution, and yes, she is willing to face the guillotine. The fourth woman is the recently widowed monarch, Marie Antoinette (Gabriela Jentzsch), also a target for the Jacobins.
This “sisterhood of heroes” share ideas and ideals. They encourage each other, comfort each other and while each woman brings something different to the quartet, they ultimately are all fighting for a better world for the next generation. They know that if discovered, they will most likely be sentenced to the guillotine and perish, but they bravely press on.
The language of the play is adapted to present-day jargon and this adds to its charm and humor. The actors are all engaging, and I especially enjoyed the portrayal of the slightly airheaded and self-absorbed Marie Antoinette (Jentzsch). This is not to say the play is a pure comedy, although there are a number of funny lines. The subject matter and the gravity of the period come through, and the characters’ pain is palpable. After all, we are reminded “this is the Reign of Terror, not the reign of let’s agree to disagree.”
The Revolutionists will run through September 15. Tickets may be purchased online at boxoffice@lamplighterslamesa.com or by phone 619.303.5092.
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in the coverage of the arts.