Tonight, Emilie du Châtelet, leading physicist (before there was such a word), card shark, and all-around bad ass during the Age of Enlightenment returns searching for answers: Love or Philosophy? Head or Heart? Join the outspoken, revolutionary, and brilliantly sexy Marquise who introduced Newtonian physics to France and took Voltaire as her lover (correcting errors in his work) for a “fiercely inquisitive and joyfully sexy” (San Francisco Chronicle) theatrical exploration. Traverse time and space with a woman living ahead of her time, ignoring the rules of polite society, with her only limitation being that of her dexterous mind.
A Catalyst Collaborative@MIT 10th Anniversary Production
Reviews
“Lee Mikeska Gardner gives a tour de force performance!”— The Boston Globe
“Lee Mikeska Gardner’s extraordinary performance in the title role shines a beacon on a brilliant, outspoken woman ahead of her time.”— Joyce Kulhawik, JoycesChoices.com
“The star of this show is without a doubt Lee Mikeska Gardner. [She] reminds us that she, too, is a Renaissance Woman.”— EdgeBoston.com
“Emilie invokes the quest we all undertake to make sense of who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going.”— The Arts Fuse
“Lee Mikeska Gardner's Emilie du Châtelet is like watching a force of nature.”— Berkshire Fine Arts
“What excited me about the play, though, was the underlying theme of the relationship–the correct relationship–between science and theater. Emilie is a scientist, and her lover Voltaire a playwright, and theater and hard science are frequently compared by her, during their arguments, to the disadvantage of theater. Science is about finding out the truth, Emilie implies, while drama is about creating what you want to see. Playwrights invent, actors lie, but scientists discover.”— Robin Abrahams
“A very winning performance from the charming Lee Mikeska Gardner!”— Boston Events Insider
“Lee Mikeska Gardner, Nora Theatre Company's Artistic Director, is a revelation as Emilie. It is a tour de force performance that should not be missed.”— White Rhino Partners
Writer
- Lauren Gunderson playwright
Director
- Judy Braha director
Cast
- Lee Mikeska Gardner* Emilie
- Steven Barkhimer* Voltaire
- Sophorl Ngin* Soubrette
- Lewis D. Wheeler The Gentleman
- Michelle Dowd The Madame
Production
- Sophie Gibson-Rush asst director
- Judith Chaffee choreographer
- John R. Malinowski lighting designer
- Steven Royal scenic design
- Chelsea Kerl costume design
- David Wilson sound design
- Megan F. Kinneen properties
- Dominique D. Burford stage manager
- Renato Luna Dezonne assistant stage manager