by Jody Tuso-Key; Managing Editor

Professional Photo Credit: Casey Gardner Ford

YouTube Film Credit: Brian Wallenberg

From now until June 28th, Theatrical Outfit is enchanting audiences with Lauren Gunderson’s THE REVOLUTIONISTS. This play is what happens when history throws a dinner party, invites four extraordinary women, and serves equal portions of clever wit, insightful wisdom, and impending doom. Think Bridgerton meets Thelma and Louise by way of the storming of the Bastille. Buckle up, citizens, and prepare for a wildly her-storical ride.

This production is a dazzling study in art imitating life imitating art, with each layer reflecting and refracting the next like the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles—only with considerably more feminism and considerably fewer powdered aristocrats keeping their heads. Set amid the blood-soaked chaos of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, the play gathers playwright Olympe de Gouges (Courtney Patterson), assassin Charlotte Corday (Erika Miranda), former queen Marie Antoinette (Bethany Anne Lind), and Haitian revolutionary Marianne Angelle (Tiffany Denise Hobbs) into a room where they debate art, politics, friendship, feminism, and the uncomfortable reality that Madame Guillotine is never very far away. It sounds like the setup for a college history lecture. Instead, it’s one of the funniest and most thought-provoking comedic tragedies you’re likely to see this season.

Gunderson’s script crackles with intelligence and irreverence, and the cast and crew of Theatrical Outfit, led by director Amber McGinnis, take Gundersin’s words and launch them with the force of a revolutionary cannon aimed squarely at convention. The dialogue moves at breakneck speed, leaping effortlessly from philosophical discussions to modern references and back again. The play refuses to trap these women behind museum glass or marble monuments. Instead, it presents them as fully realized human beings—brilliant, flawed, ambitious, frightened, and stubbornly determined to leave their mark on a world that would rather silence them.

Amber McGinnis was the ultimate choice to direct this piece. Lauren Gunderson herself relayed to me at intermission that she felt this was the best-directed production of THE REVOLUTIONISTS she has seen to date. That’s high praise from the playwright, and after witnessing this production, it’s easy to understand why.

Of course, I’m always singing the praises of Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay’s ingenious set design. Their work is the jewel in any production’s crown. I’ll let my photos speak for themselves. Do I detect hints of pieces used in Theatrical Outfit’s recent production of THE PRICE? It’s almost as if Gregory Solomon became a time traveler and smuggled pieces from the Franz collection to revolutionary France before the Committee of Public Safety could confiscate them. Somehow the result feels simultaneously historical, theatrical, and delightfully lived-in.

Can I say how much I love Candy McClellan Davison? Her choreography was SO FUN and immediately established the tone for the scenes that followed. While this may be a period piece, the movement refuses to stay trapped in the eighteenth century. Instead, it marches forward with the energy of a Parisian crowd headed toward the Bastille, carrying modern relevance in one hand and social commentary in the other. While this isn’t a musical, Gunderson reverently and hilariously tips her tricorne hat toward another banner-waving musical masterpiece inspired by the French Revolution, and Candy’s choreography, paired with haunting a cappella moments, transforms the evening into a theatrical bonbon. I have no idea how Candy found time in her schedule to choreograph this production, but I wish I still possessed that level of energy.

April Andrew Carswell’s costume design? AMAZING. I’d happily take replicas of every outfit for Dragon Con. Carswell combines fabrics, ribbons, lace, and bric-a-brac with historical authenticity while embracing a fresh modern Rococo flair. The result is a wardrobe that would make Marie Antoinette swoon and convention-goers immediately start searching for sewing patterns.

Ben Rawson’s lighting design is breathtakingly subtle and perfectly calibrated to each emotional shift. He especially captures the transition between the raw brutality of Madame Guillotine’s work and the characters’ journeys toward peace in a manner that is genuinely moving. It’s one of the production’s most quietly powerful achievements.

Jeremiah Davison’s sound design is impeccably executed. The music selections serve as emotional drumbeats of the revolution, artfully underscoring moments of triumph, terror, humor, and heartbreak without ever overwhelming the performances.

What makes THE REVOLUTIONISTS so remarkable is its balancing act. Like the best revolutions, it thrives on contradiction. It is laugh-out-loud funny one moment and unexpectedly devastating the next. Gunderson uses humor as both shield and sword, allowing difficult conversations about power, gender, race, and violence to land with surprising force. The comedy never undercuts the seriousness of the themes; it sharpens them with the precision of Madame Guillotine herself.

The four women at the center of the story feel startlingly contemporary despite their eighteenth-century surroundings. Their struggles with identity, agency, and the challenge of making their voices heard resonate just as strongly today as they did more than two centuries ago. The result feels less like a period piece and more like a conversation unfolding in real time.

Yet beneath all the cleverness lies a poignant reminder of what’s at stake. These women know history may not remember them kindly—or at all. Their determination to speak anyway becomes the play’s most revolutionary act. Liberty, equality, fraternity—those lofty ideals mean very little if people are denied the right to tell their own stories.

OLYMPE DE GOUGES

Courtney Patterson embodies Olympe de Gouges—a playwright, activist, and professional troublemaker armed with a quill sharper than any guillotine blade. Determined to write her way into history even as history threatens to erase her, Olympe is equal parts visionary and neurotic, convinced that words can change the world and willing to stake her life on that belief.

Patterson pours every ounce of herself into the role. In the opening moments, as Olympe struggles to begin writing about her companions while desperately avoiding the subject of Madame Guillotine, Patterson’s self-dialogue becomes particularly poignant. With playwright Lauren Gunderson seated in the audience, it almost felt as though Patterson was staring into a mirror, blurring the line between playwright and character. She brings remarkable depth, vulnerability, and emotional authenticity to this complicated woman. Atlanta theatre is fortunate to count Courtney Patterson among its brightest talents.

CHARLOTTE CORDAY

Erika Miranda is the Revolution’s prettiest and most lethal assassin. Armed with unwavering conviction, Charlotte Corday believes one well-placed knife can save a nation. She is living proof that no one should underestimate a woman carrying a shopping list and a secret agenda.

Miranda not only looks striking in her Marauders costume, but she also delivers a masterclass in physicality and purpose. Every movement is deliberate, every glance loaded with intent. Charlotte’s contempt for the privileged elite is palpable, and Miranda makes it impossible for modern audiences not to recognize a little of themselves in her righteous frustration. Fierce, focused, and utterly compelling, she commands attention whenever she steps onstage.

MARIE ANTOINETTE

Bethany Anne Lind portrays France’s former queen and current public-relations nightmare. Beneath the towering wigs, lavish gowns, and endless ribbons is a woman genuinely baffled by how everything unraveled so spectacularly.

Lind plays Marie Antoinette as a delightful blend of Marilyn Monroe and Cher Horowitz from Clueless—glamorous, charmingly bewildered, and unexpectedly insightful. What could easily become a caricature instead becomes a fully realized woman grappling with the collapse of the world she once ruled. Her fixation on ribbons provides some of the show’s biggest laughs, while her gradual realization that life beyond the palace walls comes with far fewer servants and far more death threats adds surprising depth. Lind’s comedic timing is impeccable, but it’s the flashes of humanity beneath the powdered façade that make her performance memorable.

MARIANNE ANGELLE

Tiffany Denise Hobbs commands the stage as Marianne Angelle, the fierce Caribbean freedom fighter whose revolutionary spirit makes everyone around her look like they’re merely dabbling in rebellion. Grounded, passionate, and impossible to ignore, Marianne carries the weight of battles that extend far beyond France’s borders while reminding her companions that liberty means little if it isn’t shared by everyone.

Hobbs is perfectly cast in the role. She serves as the emotional and moral center of the production—the rock upon which the other three women lean when their convictions begin to waver. Her strength never feels forced; it radiates naturally through every scene. I’ve long admired Tiffany’s work, and this performance is yet another reminder of why she remains one of Atlanta’s most consistently powerful performers.

MADAME GUILLOTINE:

(the unofficial fifth character) Always lurking, never speaking, and somehow stealing every scene. The ultimate critic—one bad review and you’re finished. Many of us have had an allegorical guillotine looming over us in our lives. The question is, do we run from her, or face her bravely with legendary last words?

The most intriguing thing about this study in revolutionary feminism is the ability for an audience member to see part of themselves in each character. For me, it’s the following: Olympe’s talent with the pen (writer’s block is real, y’all!), Marianne’s solid strength and cool head in the face of adversity; Charlotte’s propensity to want to put narcissistic men in their place; and Marie’s dizziness  (I blame mine on vertigo) mixed with ability for deep thought, and love for bows and bling. Theatrical Outfit was where I first saw Lauren’s work in 2018 when Speakeysie was in its infancy. THE BOOK OF WILL was subject matter near and dear to my heart, so transformative, and Lauren and I have been social media acquaintances ever since. It was a thrill for me to finally meet her in the flesh at Friday night’s performance.  

By the final scene, THE REVOLUTIONISTS accomplishes something rare. It entertains, enlightens, and inspires without ever feeling preachy. Gunderson and Theatrical Outfit transform historical figures into vibrant human beings and remind us that revolutions aren’t fueled solely by armies, politicians, or angry mobs waving tricolor flags. Sometimes they begin with artists, dreamers, rebels, and women bold enough to challenge the status quo—even when the cost may be their heads.

Vive la révolution, indeed!

As always, peace be with you, and thank you for your readership.