Who doesn’t know the story of Marie Antoinette? She lived a decadent and extravagant lifestyle full of beautiful fashion, luxurious foods, and opulent parties. She was the queen of France, but she famously paid for her extravagance with her life.

Mary Baldwin University Theatre presents David Adjmi’s political and social satire Marie Antoinette, which runs February 14-18 in the Fletcher Collins Theatre in Bertie Murphy Deming Fine Arts Center. Layla Ophelia stars as the doomed French queen with a bad reputation and Clarence Finn portrays her feckless husband King Louis XVI. The royal couple’s strained marriage reflects the struggles of their dissatisfied populace, as citizen and monarch are poised on the razor’s edge of a bloody revolution.

The production features Mary Baldwin theatre favorites Melissa Fulton, Marianna Moynihan, Micaela Harmon, and Maeve Edwards respectively as the Dauphin, Dutchess Polignac, Dutchess Lamballe, and a talking Sheep. They are joined by Shakespeare and Performance alum Ryan Odenbrett as Fersen and Keith Taylor, Emma Siegel, Nicole Jones, Duncan McGhee, and Micaela Harmon playing multiple roles.

Mary Baldwin’s art and undergraduate theatre department joined forces to create the elegant design reminiscent of the French court, led by the directorial team: Doreen Bechtol, Allison Glenzer, and Christina Peppas.

Audiences are sure to enjoy this tale of a frivolous queen whose shockingly explicit language roots her in a modern American dialect. By doing so, playwright Adjmi intentionally asks audience to compare our own fetishes with celebrity status and the dominant 1% of concentrated wealth.  Come join us for an evening of delicious performances that promise to entertain audiences with comedic wit and heartfelt tragedy.

As a new feature, the theatre department will be providing reserved parking from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. in the SAC parking lot. A shuttle service from parking to the entrance of the theatre can be arranged for patrons by calling 540-887-7189 between 6:45 and 7:20 p.m. the night of the performance and between 1:15 and 1:50 p.m. for our Sunday matinee. Join us at 7:30 p.m. February 14-17 and at 2 p.m. on February 18. Tickets are $7 for students, seniors, and Mary Baldwin faculty and staff and $12 for adults. For more ticket information or to purchase a ticket, call 540-887-7189 Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or visit www.marybaldwin.edu/arts/theatre. Get your tickets before the show sells out!

This production contains adult language.