As the calendar creeps forward to opening night, the cast and crew of Hamline’s Performance, Production and Community (PPC) department spring performance “The Revolutionists” prepare to share their hard work with the community.
Hamline’s PPC department and Director Laura Dougherty will open “The Revolutionists” written by Lauren Gunderson on Mar. 2 at 7:00 p.m. in the Anne Simley Theatre. As this date gets closer, the show’s cast and crew are putting the final touches on their work.
The show is about four women living in France at the peak of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror: former queen Marie Antoinette, assassin Charlotte Corday, playwright Olympe De Gouge and Haitian rebel Marianne Angel. The story follows these four as they navigate their possible deaths and place in society as women.
“As we watch the play, we are asked to question what is our part in the world, and what is our part in a revolution, but also what is our part just in being a spectator,” Technical Director, Production Manager and Lighting Designer Kim Lartz said.
The decision to perform this play instead of any of the other numerous options was made by director Laura Dougherty, who directs each year here at Hamline.

“I’m so drawn to the stories of women who have been erased from our canonical archive of history, and those, notably women of color, who have been excluded from many white narratives. As an artist and scholar, and as a department, we are committed to consistent inclusion of previously excluded voices from our stages,” Dougherty said.
While some may be familiar with the show, junior Eden Fahy, the Marie Antoinette actor, believes seeing it in person is impactful.
“It’s a really incredible show. I think that a lot of people — when reading the script — aren’t as drawn into it, but they see it live and it’s far more moving than they would have expected,” Fahy said.
“The Revolutionists” is unique in the fact that it has a small crew and a cast of only four actors who auditioned late last fall semester. Since the start of the spring semester, the cast has been rehearsing three hours a night, six nights a week to get the show ready for the stage.
“I think this is the quickest turnaround from starting rehearsals to performing. We’ve only had a month really to put everything together,” Fahy said.
Despite the short turnaround, the cast and crew alike are spending as much time as possible working out every kink in the show.
“We’re working really long hours trying to get everything done before we do our final dress rehearsal, so on opening night, there are no surprises, except the audience hopefully laughing and cheering and joining in,” Lartz said.
One of these final touches to the performance is the addition of costumes. The costume designer for this production is designer Samantha Rei, who appeared on a season of “Project Runway.”

“[Rei] is creating some incredible, incredible pieces, so I’m excited for people to see the costumes. I’m excited to see the costumes and get to wear them and live in them for a little bit,” Fahy said.
The other important and exciting aspect of the show that has yet to be added is of course, the audience, who will finally get to see the hard work come together this coming Saturday.
“It’ll hopefully make you laugh and then make you cry and then make you laugh again. The audience is always such a beautiful addition to the show– especially in this show, they play a really important part in the story,” Fahy said.
Besides having the unique opportunity to play a part in the performance, the audience will get to see the work of a handful of college students and staff as they tell an emotional and historically important story that many of their peers are unfamiliar with.
“The character work these four students are doing is absolutely phenomenal. How do you, as a 20-year-old college student, relate to Marie Antoinette?” Lartz said. “I’m really excited for people to see all of the work our students have done.”
“The Revolutionists” is finally opening its curtains in Anne Simelyon Mar. 2, where community members can watch four Hamline students put on a moving performance about feminism, activism and legacy.
“Because what is more punk than a revolution? And more revolutionary than feminism?” Dougherty said.