Marie Antoinette ExtendedThru 9/4 at Performance Network

Due to great responses from both critics and audiences, Performance Network Theatre will extend its production of the romantic historical fiction "Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh" by Joel Gross. This production will now run through September 4.

History gets a refreshingly sexy face in this sumptuous study of an imagined love triangle between Marie Antoinette; her portrait painter, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun; and a fictitious aristocratic lover to both, Count Alexis de Ligne. Spanning two politically explosive decades surrounding the French Revolution, this elegant boudoir drama weaves politics, history, romance and art.

Called "beautifully conceived," "inventive" and "exquisite" by critics, Encore Michigan's John Quinn says the show "bubbles like fine champagne in the best tradition of a comedy of manners."

Artistic Director David Wolber said "Audiences are really responding to the show, just as we expected they would -- the breathtaking costumes and scenery, the sharp wit, the touching love story -- there's a little something for everyone. Even the politics of the time are really mirroring what's happening in America today. The biggest laugh of the whole show is almost always when the character of Alexis speaks of the national debt growing like a monster feeding on its young."

Weekly performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm, with 3pm matinees on Saturday August 27th.

Tickets can be ordered at the Performance Network Box Office at 734-663-0681, online at
www.performancenetwork.org or by coming to the Performance Network Theatre (120 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, 48104) Monday-Saturday 11-6 or one hour before a performance. Tickets are priced at $25 - $41, with discounts available for seniors, members, students and groups.

Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre has grown from a fledgling company to Ann Arbor's only resident, professional theatre. The Network reaches 40,000 theatre patrons and children each year through the year-round Professional Series and The Children's Theatre Network. Performance Network also presents the Fireside Festival of New Works and a series of classes on theatre-related topics. The Network provides uncompromising artistic leadership in the region and produces works that engage, challenge and inspire audiences and artists.