You might want to think twice about eating cake in the coming days, as the Playshop Theatre performs its spring play this weekend.

“Marie Antoinette,” written by David Adjmi, is a contemporary take on the life of the French queen. Mark Cosdon, professor of theatre and performance studies, is the director for “Marie Antoinette.” Antoinette was a young Austrian girl married off to the future king of France as her mother’s most famous political pawn for securing power in Austria. The story follows how she becomes a symbol of decadence but is often maliciously attacked.

According to Cosdon, what Adjmi is trying to communicate with this work is that Antoinette could be seen as simply a fall person, unfairly taking the blame for many of the revolutionary problems happening in late 18th century France. The play shows that she was flawed, but not responsible for the chaos that took place.

Another major theme that is unique to Allegheny’s production of the play is the introduction of race into the power dynamic.

“I think that something that our production very intentionally attempts to grapple with is the idea of Marie Antoinette, the historical person, was a white continental European woman, blonde haired, blue-green eyes,” Cosdon said. “What happens when that part is played by a Black woman? In our production’s case, that is Niyah Moore.”

Niyah Moore, ’26, is a theater major and education minor.

Cosdon described that what audiences will subtly but very intentionally see in the production and will be asked to consider is what happens when a woman is placed into a position of power and, importantly, what happens when a woman of color is placed into a position of power? This addition to the story is in contrast to the original script where Antoinette is still portrayed as a white woman.

“Our production absolutely asks us to consider the ideas of status, of class, of wealth, along with the idea of celebrity and celebrity culture,” Cosdon said.

When Moore read the script, she initially saw a lot of parallels between Antoinette and the Black experience in America in both historical and modern day contexts.

“I thought it could be something where I could finally bring myself to — and my experiences and my perspective to — the character because so much of what she goes through I can relate to in a way,” Moore said. “Even though I’ve never been a queen of France (and I) never will be, but her situations of being othered and constantly being watched in order to make sure you’re perfect at all times. You know, hair is a big thing for her as well, and hair being so important and sacred in Black culture.”

Moore felt a bit apprehensive of the part initially, but then looked at the bigger picture of embodying the story of a woman in power who is constantly doing what is expected of her, but never meeting the expectations. The story of never being good enough spoke to Moore beyond just the historical context.

According to Moore, the show speaks volumes about the experience of “Black power” in particular.

“Black women or Black people in a position of power and the struggles that they have to go through to constantly be perfect,” Moore said. “To constantly always do the right thing, say the right thing, look the part.”

In this play, audiences will see the flip side of that through the character Antoinette.

Moore studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City during the summer of 2025, which gave her experience with professional training that informs her approach to demanding roles such as Antoinette. Moore is also incorporating her senior comprehensive project with the play by focusing on how she is applying the Adler techniques to Antoinette, as well as adding in details from her rehearsal journals of how she interprets Antoinette’s circumstances through Adlerian techniques.

One person that Moore voiced recognition for was the production’s costume designer, Uriel Gomez, ’12, saying that Gomez was very attentive to her needs and put hard work into making custom costumes for the cast. Cosdon complimented the costume work as well, calling it “bold and memorable.”

Grace Kegel, ’27, plays the role of Therese de Lamballe, a character who Kegel describes as Antoinette best friend and the person who the queen can confide in for advice in the world she lives in where she’s constantly surrounded.

“I think the point of show is you’ll watch Marie Antoinette live in a different reality than she’s in, which speaks to both the scenic design, the lighting design, the music, the costumes and also Niyah’s own talent,” Kegel said, “as you’ll watch the evolution of a woman who believes she’s living in one world and begins to realize that her reality is false.”

Original sound was created for the play by the production’s sound designer, Pan-Pan Gou. Kegel found listening to the sound even during rehearsal very touching.

“I think it’s really, really powerful what she’s done with the music,” Kegel said. “There is a musical score and theme that will return in different points in the show to kind of symbolize the fact that Marie is thinking internally, struggling internally. So there’s an ongoing theme you might hear her humming.”

Lukas Deemer, ’28, who plays the role of Mr. Sauce, a farmer who lives on the countryside, also praised Gou’s sound design.

“Her audio design is very in depth, and I want to say ominous, and it’s nothing like I’ve ever heard,” Deemer said.

Performances of “Marie Antoinette” will take place on March 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. and March 29 at 2 p.m. in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre. Reservations can be made online by visiting the Playshop’s website.

This article has been updated to correctly spell John Smith’s name. Updated: April 4, 2026, 7:40 a.m.