Press Release: Theatre Horizon to Honor Local and Global Female Revolutionists, Including Norristown’s Maria Bello and Nia Ali
As part of Theatre Horizon’s season celebrating #WomenWhoDare, the professional theatre will honor 35 daring women with a unique and empowering gallery exhibit during the run of The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson. The women selected span the globe and cross time from the mid 18th century through today. The show and exhibit runs from February 1 through February 25, 2018 at Theatre Horizon (401 DeKalb Street, Norristown).
Three of the women are Norristown natives who represent the company’s vision to present bold stories of empowering females:
Martha Settle Putney, Maria Bello, and Nia Ali
Martha Settle Putney was an American educator and historian born in Norristown who chronicled the roles of African Americans in the armed forces. After serving as one of the first black members of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II, she devoted her life to researching and documenting the military service and achievements of black Americans. After her discharge from the army, she entered the academic world, earning a PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and pursuing a distinguished teaching career and wrote several successful African American novels.
Maria Bello is a Women’s Rights Activist and Actress from Norristown. She is known for roles in projects like E.R., The Cooler, A History of Violence and Prisoners, and her help in establishing the DreamYard Drama Project for youth in the Bronx. She has also done vital work for women and families in Darfur and Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. She is an openly bi-sexual woman with a 12-year-old son, and wrote the 2015 book Whatever…Love Is Love: Questioning the Labels We Give Ourselves, which calls for people to have a more expansive and fluid view of relationships, both romantic and platonic.
Nia Ali is a Norristown-born American track and field athlete who formerly competed for the Tennessee Volunteers (then the Lady Volunteers) where she was Southeastern Conference champion in the heptathlon and at USC she was an All-American in the heptathlon. She won one silver Olympic medal in the 100m hurdles in 2016.
The entire timeline features women you know, some you think you know, and more you will encounter for the first time. Additionally, patrons attending The Revolutionists will have the opportunity to add a note to our gallery telling us about their favorite woman who dares.
The Revolutionists features a winning, all-female cast, including Barrymore winner Charlotte Northeast (Azuka, Lantern, Philadelphia Artists Collective) as Olympe, Barrymore winner Jaylene Clark Owens (Horizon’s WHITE, Wilma, Orbiter 3) as Marianne, Claire Inie-Richards (People’s Light, Lantern) as Charlotte, and Jessica Bedford (Horizon’s WHITE, Off-Broadway’s White Guy on the Bus) as Marie Antoinette. These women–an assassin, a spy, a writer, and Marie Antoinette–hang out, plot murder, and try to beat back extremist insanity in Paris. In Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists, the women act in the face of injustice, give their lives to protect freedom and equality, and stand up for what they believe in…all while being hilarious in the face of challenging, fractured political times. Armed with sharp wit and even sharper knives, this comedy of liberté, égalité, and sororité considers how we actually go about changing the world.
Service details are below. Thank you!
DETAILS AND SERVICE
Theatre Horizon presents
The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Kathryn MacMillan
February 1-25, 2018
$25 for Previews
$35 for Regular Performances
Theatre Horizon offers Norristown residents free tickets for all performances (pending availability). Tickets can be purchased by visiting theatrehorizon.org, or by calling 610-283-2230.
