The Woodlands High School Opens Theater Season With The Revolutionists
The fantasy comedy brings four historical women together during the French Revolution, Sept. 17–19 in the TWHS Black Box Theatre.
By The Woodlands Student Center
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Four women facing a revolution, an uncertain legacy and the possibility of losing their heads take center stage in The Revolutionists, the first production of the 2026–27 season for The Woodlands High School Theatre Department.
Written by Lauren Gunderson and directed at TWHS by Bonnie Dupuis, the comedy-drama runs Sept. 17–19 in the school’s intimate Black Box Theatre. Friday night’s performance is sold out.
The Woodlands Student Center attended the final preview Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Set during the Reign of Terror in Paris in 1793, the play imagines a meeting among four women connected to the French Revolution: playwright and political activist Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, Haitian revolutionary Marianne Angelle and former queen Marie Antoinette.
Together, they wrestle with violence, art, activism, sacrifice and the frightening question of what—if anything—one person can do to change the world.
History has often reached audiences through the writing and experiences of men. The Revolutionists deliberately turns that perspective around, placing women’s voices, ambitions and fears at the center of the story. Although grounded in history, this is not a traditional historical drama. It is a fantasy comedy—bold, self-aware and frequently very funny, even as the guillotine waits in the distance.
That balance requires four performers who can move quickly between absurdity and genuine danger. The TWHS quartet proves more than capable.
Sophomore Quinn Sadlier anchors the production as Olympe de Gouges, the playwright attempting to find the words that might outlive the revolution. Sadlier’s conversational timing is exceptional. Young actors can sometimes appear to be waiting for their next line, but Sadlier listens, reacts and allows thoughts to arrive naturally. Her dialogue feels immediate, as though Olympe is genuinely discovering what she wants to say.
Sadlier is equally effective when she is not the scene’s focal point. Her eyes and background reactions remain active without distracting from the speaking performer, often guiding the audience’s attention back toward the emotional center of the scene. A member of the Script Reading Club, Improv Troupe and Varsity Treble Choir, she also continues a family connection to the performing arts at TWHS.
Senior Maddie Welsh gives Charlotte Corday more than the single-minded severity one might expect from a historical assassin. Welsh makes the audience care about the person behind the act. Her Charlotte is controlled and determined, but never reduced to a weapon or a historical footnote. She allows the audience to recognize the conviction, fear and humanity beneath Corday’s resolve.
Welsh’s theatrical experience extends beyond acting. She has also represented TWHS in competitive technical theater, earning second place in an Audio Challenge event.
Junior DeAnna Lewis plays Marianne Angelle, the Haitian revolutionary whose personal losses give the play some of its deepest emotional weight. Lewis begins with restraint, building the character patiently instead of relying on an exaggerated Caribbean accent. When Marianne speaks about her husband and family, that restraint gives way to a moving emotional clarity. It is the point at which Lewis fully draws the audience into Marianne’s fight.
Lewis is already well known within the school’s fine arts community as a member of the TWHS Chamber Choir. She has advanced through the TMEA Region 9 audition process and appeared as a featured soloist in the annual Pop Show, performing Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.” The Revolutionists gives audiences an opportunity to see another dimension of her abilities.
Senior Lyla Bacon nearly steals the production as Marie Antoinette.
Returning to the stage after two years away, Bacon displays exceptional comic instincts. The larger jokes land, but her most memorable work is often found in the smallest choices—a glance, a pause, a shift in posture or a perfectly placed reaction.
Watch, in particular, how she handles something as simple as a mint: how she accepts it, uses it and ultimately attempts to discards it. The moment becomes a master class in micro-acting, physical comedy and the art of understatement. Without calling attention to the gesture, Bacon uses tiny movements and micro-expressions to tell the audience nearly everything it needs to know about her Marie Antoinette.
That kind of underacting requires confidence. Bacon understands that comedy does not always need to be pushed toward the audience. Sometimes the smallest gesture can reveal the largest amount of character. Those details drew consistent laughter during the preview and made it difficult to look anywhere else when she was onstage.
Bacon’s performance is even more notable considering that theater is only one part of her student life. She is also a goalie for The Woodlands girls varsity lacrosse team.
As an ensemble, Sadlier, Welsh, Lewis and Bacon work with impressive trust. Their overlapping exchanges are clean, the rhythm remains sharp and each performer gives the others room to succeed. The result feels less like four separate performances and more like a genuine quartet.
The technical work supports that connection without overwhelming it. Madison Chapman’s lighting and Dallin Haight’s sound design help carry the production through its rapid turns from comedy to dread. The changes in light and sound do more than announce a shift in mood; they move the audience emotionally with the characters. Heather Collins designed the costumes, with Kat Davis serving as technical director.
At approximately two hours and 20 minutes—including a 15-minute intermission—The Revolutionists asks serious questions but never forgets that theater can entertain while doing so.
Its questions also feel remarkably current: Who controls the historical record? Can art confront extremism? Is being remembered the same as making a difference? And when public language becomes violent, what responsibility belongs to the people who write, speak and resist?
TWHS does not offer easy answers. Instead, it gives four historical women the stage and allows them to argue, laugh, grieve and decide how they want their stories told.
The recommendation is simple: If you can get a ticket, see this production. Friday night is already sold out, and the intimacy of the Black Box makes the remaining performances a special opportunity to watch four young performers create something funny, intelligent and deeply human at close range.
Show information
Production: The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson
Dates: Sept. 17–19, 2026
Venue: TWHS Black Box Theatre, Main Campus
Address: 6101 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands
Running time: Approximately two hours and 20 minutes, including intermission
Availability: Friday night is sold out
Advisory: The production includes themes of conflict, violence and death, along with a pulsing/strobe-light effect. Parent or guardian discretion is encouraged.
Tickets and performance times: Visit the TWHS Theatre Department’s official production page.
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