Sold-out LA reading of The Revolutionists delivers intimate, electric performances; cast shines as production heads toward Paris transfer. soon ahead
The air at the Matrix Theatre Company was electric as The Revolutionists opened to a completely sold-out crowd, marking a striking Los Angeles play reading of Lauren Gunderson’s celebrated work, one that felt far greater than the format might suggest.
Brought to the stage by Eugenia Kuzmina and Jennifer DeLia, with direction by DeLia, the evening unfolded as a one-night theatrical event that blurred the line between reading and fully realized performance, immediate, intimate, and undeniably alive.
Gunderson’s The Revolutionists, a bold and darkly comedic exploration of four women navigating the chaos of the French Revolution, interrogates art, power, and the cost of having a voice. In Los Angeles, those questions felt strikingly contemporary.
The cast, less assembled than composed, brought a powerful, layered presence to the reading.
Eugenia Kuzmina led as Olympe de Gouges, grounding the evening with a performance that moved between wit and emotional precision. Kuzmina’s background, from a Soviet childhood marked by hardship to international modeling with houses like Cartier and Dior, and later film roles in The Gentlemen, Operation Fortune, and Bad Moms, infused her performance with a lived, textured complexity. A regular on stages like The Comedy Store, The Improv, and The Laugh Factory, she bridges humor and gravity with striking control.
Taylor Olandt’s Charlotte Corday carried a quiet intensity, poised and cinematic in her restraint. Raised in Los Angeles within an entertainment lineage, Olandt has built a multifaceted career across music and film, performing at venues such as The Troubadour and collaborating with legendary producer Ken Caillat, an artistic grounding that informs Charlotte’s still, almost suspenseful presence.
Karen Strassman transformed Marie Antoinette into a figure of irony and vulnerability, revealing the humanity beneath the myth. With over 600 credits across film, television, and voice acting, including franchises like Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and League of Legends, as well as on-screen roles in CSI: Vegas and The Rookie, Strassman moves fluidly between satire and emotional depth.
Marieme’s Marianne Angelle pulsed with raw, revolutionary force, embodying both spirit and defiance. A Senegalese-American artist whose work spans music, performance, and global cultural stages, from Red Rocks to Ibiza, and contributions to projects like Grey’s Anatomy, she brings an elemental energy that makes Marianne feel less performed than unleashed.
The result was a room alive with response, laughter cutting through tension, silence holding weight where words could not. Under DeLia’s direction, the language moved with clarity and rhythm, allowing the play’s urgency to emerge organically.
Jennifer DeLia, a visionary director currently at the helm of the upcoming Mary Pickford biopic, continues to push the boundaries of her craft across film, theater, and music. From her acclaimed arthouse feature Billy Bates to directing projects with artists such as Amadou & Mariam, Kyp & Tunde of TV on the Radio, Blinddog Smokin’, Bobby Rush, and Dr. John, her work carries a distinct visual and emotional signature. Her theater direction has included collaborations with Julia Stiles and James Wirt at the Cherry Lane Theatre Off-Broadway.
What distinguishes this moment is its trajectory. Rather than existing as a singular reading, The Revolutionists in Los Angeles signals the beginning of an international journey, with plans to bring the full ensemble to Paris, the very city where the story itself unfolds.
In many ways, the production mirrors the spirit of the play itself: fearless, intelligent, and unapologetically alive.
A sold-out reading is rare. One that feels like an opening is something else entirely.
What made the evening particularly compelling was its sense of immediacy, an experience that felt both fleeting and monumental. There was an understanding among those in attendance that they were witnessing something in its earliest, most unfiltered form, before the layers of a full production take shape. That rawness became part of the performance itself, adding a dimension of authenticity that is often difficult to capture on larger stages.
The Matrix Theatre Company, known for its commitment to intimate and actor-driven work, proved to be the ideal setting for such a moment. Its close quarters allowed every nuance, every glance, pause, and breath, to resonate fully with the audience. In this environment, Gunderson’s text found a natural home, where its urgency and humor could land with precision and impact.
There is also a growing appetite within the Los Angeles theater community for experiences that challenge traditional formats. This reading, though rooted in a classic theatrical structure, felt like a step toward something more fluid, where storytelling is not confined by scale, but elevated by intention. It speaks to a broader movement in contemporary theater: one that values connection over spectacle and substance over formality.
As anticipation builds for the production’s next chapter in Paris, the Los Angeles reading stands as both a milestone and a promise. It offered a glimpse into what this ensemble is capable of achieving together, setting the stage for a production that could resonate far beyond its origins. If this one-night event is any indication, The Revolutionists is poised to leave a lasting impression wherever it travels next.
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