Marie Antoinette
Stages Repertory Theatre, Houston TX , 2014
Leslie Swackhamer
Scenic Design, Ryan McGettigan
Lighting Design, Devlin Browning
Costume Design, Barry Doss
Sound Design, Bryan Ealey

"The ill-fated queen of France sashays down the halls of Versailles to a heavy techno beat. Gigantic neon fleurs-de-lis flash blindingly. Looking as tasty and pastel as any of those luscious macarons piled into a decorous pyramid on the acrylic table, she could be a classy runway model ... When the revolution comes with a thunderous coup de théâtre, as the white floor is ripped apart, the neon goes out, chairs are overthrown, all overlaid with the hellish sound of mobs and panic. Scruffy Revolutionist marches ominously toward us, holding out his scrolled piece of paper as it tears away from the background — an endless petition of grievances. ... Stages's starkly abstract production is ravishing to behold: those opulent fashions, scenic designer Ryan McGettigan's wondrous neon installation, Devlin Browning's searing lighting, Bryan Ealey's superlative sound work." - DL Groover, Houston Press

"With Leslie Swackhamer's taut direction, Barry Doss' sumptuous costumes and Ryan McGettigan's ingenious neon-sculpture settings, the production abounds in originality and surprises." - Everett Evans, Houston Chronicle

"The brilliantly staged palace coup... has the rebels literally tearing up the stage in an incredibly genius and simple piece of direction and set design." - Jessica Goldman, Applause-Meter