Marie Antoinette

Written by David Adjmi
Directed by John Heimbuch

February 10 – March 4, 2017

Red Eye Theater

Marie, the young queen of France, lives in a society of extravagance and artifice. But when revolution brews, can the doomed elite help who they’ve become? From gilded palace to soggy dungeon, this vibrant historical riff revels in exploding our ideas of comfort, complacency and compassion.

Reviews

“If you’ve seen any other Walking Shadow production, then it will come as no surprise when I tell you the show looks stunning.  Annie Henly’s set is spare, but populated in just the right way by Sarah Salisbury’s props that you get a feel for the opulent Versailles.  Katherine B. Kohl’s costumes (and of course all those wigs by Robert A. Dunn) do a lot of the heavy lifting for the show by being WAY over the top in a way that nails the excesses of the French monarchy perfectly.  With Michael Croswell’s sound and music compositions, it’s the little things that knocked my socks off.

The acting ensemble is stuffed with fine performances, led of course by Jane Froiland as the title character.  Her character embodies the tough to love/tough to hate aspects of the play perfectly. She’s a smart choice around which to build a production.

Strong script, equally strong cast, strong design – director John Heimbuch and Walking Shadow once again have pulled together an impressive package of theatrical elements.  I’m just not sure why they’re poking me in the brain with this particular story right now. Still, I have to admit, watching Marie Antoinette, I was never bored. That’s what happens when you dangle an answer to a question tantalizingly just outside my grasp.  Check it out for yourself – then maybe you can explain it to me – or probably, we’ll just argue about it. I imagine Walking Shadow’s fine with either outcome, as long as we’re talking.”
-Matthew Everett, Single White Fringe Geek

“Jane Froiland expertly inhabits the multifaceted character of Marie Antoinette, from her decadent palaces to her ultimate beheading. Marie evolves throughout her ordeals and is at her best when she summons the courage to fight for the safety and well-being of her family. I found myself rooting for this unlikely heroine.

The set, wigs, and costumes are stunningly beautiful. This was my first Walking Shadow production but I have heard of their impressive reputation for well-crafted shows, and they do not disappoint. The acting was top-notch, with an especially memorable performance by Froiland. I highly recommend Marie Antoinette for its high production quality and for its interesting and relevant story. Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this script is that Louis and Marie could easily be the villains, but we are challenged to dig deeper and embrace the complicated mess it is to be human. Evil does not lie in only a select few and neither does the light of goodness and love.”
-Kendra Plant, ArtfullyEngaging

“The set is simple: a few chairs here or there, pillars that can evoke a sense of both capaciousness and imprisonment. Director John Heimbuch knows what he’s doing in how to make this show work: the centrality of the play is in the gorgeous costuming by Katherine B. Kohl and the actors. We watch as the gowns and hair shrink in size until Marie is left with nothing but rags. There’s almost a romantic beauty to the humble and well-executed symbolism.”
-Laura Anne Schmidt

“Marie Antoinette is the Jane Froiland show. Froiland plays Marie with sparkly energy, eyes flashing, giggling. Brittle and powerful at the same time. Marie is at sea, quite lost, but Froiland never lets on. She wears her bizarre wigs as if born to them. Her lapses into passion and anger give her substance. They could make her petty, but it is to Froiland’s great credit that they do not. Froiland truly gives a play­making performance. She reveals herself to be an actor of power and presence. As if we ever doubted it.”
-John Olive, HowWasTheShow?

“Marie Antoinette is not one of history’s more comical personalities. Imagine my surprise, then, when the lights came up on the first scene of Walking Shadow Theatre Company’s production of David Adjmi’s play Marie Antoinette and I found myself laughing—not just me, but most of the audience—at the dialogue, the mannerisms of the title character, the two ladies in waiting on stage with her, and most definitely, at the costumes. However, by the end of the evening, there was no laughter to be heard at the Red Eye Theater. Things had become quite somber, even tragic, as we followed the Queen of France on her long descent from frivolity to despair. 

The physical production is splendid. Kudos to costume designer Katherine B. Kohl and wig designer Robert A. Dunn, The play glitters with extravagant attire and wigs for both the men and the women in court. Annie Henly’s set design is simple but very effective. White columns positioned in an arc across the stage create the illusion of Versailles; rotated and placed more closely together, they become gates confining the Royal Family at the Tuileries; brought tightly together they form a stark white wall framing Marie’s final imprisonment. Michael Croswell’s sound design is terrific, with sounds such as horse hoofs pulling a carriage, crows cawing, chains rattling, and ominous footsteps approaching helping to create a much larger canvas for the play. Paola Rodriguez’ lighting helps to convey the shift in tone from the lighthearted garden scenes to the hellfire of revolution to the dread of the prison cell. Marie Antoinette is a compelling character study of a woman subjected to forces of history for which she was totally unprepared. It offers a bravura performance by Jane Froiland and ingenious and eye­catching design work.”
-Artie Dorman, Talkin’ Broadway