Another DC Area Premiere presented by Perisphere Theater! Co-Artistic Director Lizzi Albert will direct Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh, by Joel Gross, which will run June 6-21, 2025. The Color of Flesh imagines a love triangle on the eve of the French Revolution between Marie Antoinette; Elisabeth Vigée le Brun, the beautiful, ambitious portrait painter who made her image famous; and the fictional Count Alexis de Ligne, whose enthusiastic embrace of revolutionary ideas spell disaster for the doomed Queen.
Albert states: “Marie brings together so many of my favorite things: art, romance, spirited women doing their best in a patriarchal society, the clash between idealism and reality. But this story, while unfolding against the decadent backdrop of 18th century France, touches on some of the most urgent questions of our modern age. We’re living through a moment where women’s rights and America’s foundational democratic ideals both face existential threats, and the ever-widening gulf between rich and poor continues to destabilize our society and undermine the American Dream. I look forward to teasing out these resonances with the artistic team. I’m also thrilled to be working with one of my favorite actors and historical interpreters, Laura Rocklyn, who will play Elisabeth Vigée le Brun, the remarkable portraitist at the center of this story.”
*Note: Tickets purchased in person at the box office will incur an additional $2 service fee added to the prices listed online.
Director, Lizzi Albert
Lizzi Albert is a director, actor, and teaching artist who directed Perisphere’s 2023 production of Hazardous Materials, by Beth Kander. Other directing credits include This Historic Night (Seed Productions/Capital Fringe 2018), A Christmas Carol and The Tempest(Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), and an all-female Macbeth (Notre Dame of Maryland University). Acting credits include Avant Bards’ Julius Caesar, Constellation Theater Company’s Absolutely! Perhaps, and several productions with Chesapeake Shakespeare, where she is a company member. Lizzi is interested in creating intimate, expressive, psychologically insightful theater that allows audiences to both see their own experiences reflected on stage and be inspired to seek out new ones. She holds an M.A. in acting from the University of Essex and a BFA in theater from New York University.
Playwright, Joel Gross www.joelgross.com
Joel Gross’ ten published novels include THE BOOKS OF RACHEL.His play, MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE COLOR OF FLESH, is published by Dramatists Play Service. Joel has worked on films for Fox, Universal, Sony, and HBO. Joel has an M.A. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University, and is a member of P.E.N., the Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild, and the Authors Guild.
Joel’s screenplay of The Color of Flesh is set to be directed by Jon Amiel (SOMMERSBY, ENTRAPMENT, CREATION) in Europe in 2025.
Joel’s play, Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh, was given its first public reading in New York, with Julia Roberts, Elisabeth Shue, and Stephen Lang in the cast. Subsequently, the play was developed at PKE in Los Angeles, with the help of its artistic director, Dan Lauria. Bob Kalfin directed the play at the New Jersey Rep (its world premiere), and later directed its New York debut. The Color of Flesh continues to be staged around the country since its 2008 off-Broadway production. Winner of “Best Play” for Spotlight Awards 2015, it has also been staged in Canada and Australia, and has been translated into Spanish, French, and Polish. To read selected reviews of the play, please click on the links below.
“The sweep of a historical novel….real events swirl outside, while inside at Versailles, emotions swirl just as vigorously around a triangle of love and friendship… Explores issues of class, many of them sounding quite contemporary, while creating a touching story of love.” Neil Genzlinger, THE NEW YORK TIMES