Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight 2023

A New York City premiere and directed by Kathy Gail MacGowan, Emilie is one of HIStory’s most understated stories.

One of the first female physicists, the 18th century Marquise du Châtelet died from complications in childbirth in the midst of disproving Newton’s Laws of Physics. Her work became the basis for Einstein’s theory of relativity, but her long-time lover Voltaire, who wrote with, for, and about her, remained more noted for her work than she did until very recently.

Lauren Gundersen’s play, Emilie; La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight , powerfully tells Emilie’s story with humor and love, putting her story back in her own voice and restoring the credit for the work that became the foundation for so many others’.

Duende Productions is a female-led company; this production will be a primarily female creative team, including director, costume designer, set designer, and producer.