The Return of a Revolutionary Mind Émilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight

Event Instances

• Thursday, August 13, 2026 7:30 P.M.
• Friday, August 14, 2026 7:30 P.M.
• Saturday, August 15, 2026 7:30 P.M.
• Sunday, August 16, 2026 2:00 P.M.

Event Details

Kicking off the University of Louisville Department of Theatre Art’s 2026-2027 season, the Cardinal Crew proudly announces its upcoming production of Émilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson, running August 13–16 at the Thrust Theatre. This fast, funny, and fiercely intelligent dramatic comedy brings to life one of history’s most extraordinary—and too often overlooked—scientific minds.

Part historical fantasy and part theatrical thrill ride, the play follows 18th‑century physicist and mathematician Émilie du Châtelet as she returns from the afterlife determined to answer the question which is more important: love or philosophy, head or heart? In a whirlwind of wit, passion, and scientific discovery, Émilie defends her brilliance, her desires, and the legacy that would ultimately shape modern physics.

A revolutionary thinker, Émilie du Châtelet translated Newton’s Principia Mathematica from Latin into French and recognized the foundational concept that kinetic energy is proportional to mass times the square of velocity. Though the play is a fictionalized account, it celebrates her real contributions and reinforces the truth that women invariably shape the sciences. “Émilie offers us the opportunity to see a multifaceted female figure who embodies both scientific rigor and personal resilience. She is a powerful model of intelligence, perseverance, and complexity,” said Andrea Haskett about playing the role of Émilie.

This talented team of community members and University of Louisville students invite audiences to rediscover a woman whose mind changed the world. 

Passionate. Brilliant. Defiant. Émilie defends her life tonight.