Origin
Sign In My Cart
Search
alphabetical author index
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Legacy of Light

  • Karen Zacarías
  • Full Length Play, Comedy, Present Day, 18th Century
  • 3M, 3F
  • ISBN: 9780573710278

“What is the science of love?” Two women scientists, living hundreds of years apart, explore the meaning of love, motherhood, family, art and science in this contemporary comedy.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Play
  • Comedy
  • 105 minutes

  • Time Period: Present Day, 18th Century
  • Target Audience: Adult
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: Mild Adult Themes

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, Professional Theatre
Two women scientists, living hundreds of years apart, explore the meaning of love, motherhood, family, art and science in this contemporary comedy. Legacy of Light juxtaposes the story of Émilie du Châtelet, a mathematician, scientist, and lover of the great 18th-century philosopher Voltaire, who became unexpectedly pregnant at 42, and that of a 21st-century physicist desperately trying to conceive a child.
REVIEWS:

"An intellectual joyride from start to finish."

 DC Theater Scene

"This is a work with its heart in the right place, one in which the comic machinations emanate from a source of bona fide light."

 Washington Post

"Zacarías has written this entertaining play with a shrewd eye for the economies and interests of today’s theater. It is a flight of fancy with a relevant component, containing expansive roles that will be popular with performers. Women, especially, will admire the strength, intellectual depth and human qualities of the play’s female characters."

 Variety

"Legacy of Light is an intellectual joyride from start to finish that confronts a universal question: How do women balance a passionate yearning for science with maternal instinct?"

 DC Theater Scene

"If Karen Zacarías’ new play Legacy of Light is any indication of where playwriting is headed, then pop the champagne—we have a lot to celebrate."

 Stark Insider

"Legacy of Light, a quirky look at fulfillment and discovery, is full of charm... the story takes on a fable-like quality. And Zacarías raises deep questions: motherhood vs. career, leaving the world with a meaningful legacy and the nature of immortality."

 Orlando Sentinel

Premiere Production: Legacy of Light made its world premiere at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2009. Directed by Molly Smith, the production featured Lise Bruneau, Carla Harting, Stephen Schnetzer, Michael Russotto, David Covington and Lindsey Kyler.

Characters

  • Casting: 3M, 3F

  • EMILIE du CHÂTELET – Beautiful intelligent woman. A scientist. Age 42.
    VOLTAIRE – Emilie’s lover; Playwright and scientist-wannabe. Age 54.
    SAINT-LAMBERT – Emilie’s handsome younger lover. Also plays LEWIS.
    OLIVIA – Modern professional woman. A scientist. Age 42. Also plays WET NURSE.
    MILLIE – Modern 21 year-old woman. Italian descent. Also plays PAULINE.
    PETER – Olivia’s husband. Age 44. Also plays MONSIEUR DU CHÂTELET.

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Legacy of Light Script This is optional. Order Now

    Two women scientists, living hundreds of years apart, explore the meaning of love, motherhood, family, art and science in this contemporary comedy. Legacy of Light juxtaposes the story of Émilie du Châtelet, a mathematician, scientist, and lover of the great 18th-century philosopher Voltaire, who became unexpectedly pregnant at 42, and that of a 21st-century physicist desperately trying to conceive a child.

    		$24.95

    Related Works