THE ARIA OF JULIE D'AUBIGNY, the cross-dressing, sword-fighting, opera singer, wherein she seduces men and women alike, wins numerous duels, must be twice pardoned by the King, and eventually finds true love.

[Full-Length Historical/Biographical/Drama]
2021 O'Neill Semi-Finalist
2021 Shakesepare's New Contemporaries Semifinalist

UPDATED DRAFT: 11/11/23
Julie d’Aubigny was born with a talent for singing, but she was raised as a duelist. She is used to solving her problems with violence, which has gotten her some unwanted notoriety. While gaining acclaim in the Paris...
[Full-Length Historical/Biographical/Drama]
2021 O'Neill Semi-Finalist
2021 Shakesepare's New Contemporaries Semifinalist

UPDATED DRAFT: 11/11/23
Julie d’Aubigny was born with a talent for singing, but she was raised as a duelist. She is used to solving her problems with violence, which has gotten her some unwanted notoriety. While gaining acclaim in the Paris Opera, she is also getting attention for her complicated love life: a friend abroad who is an on-again-off-again lover, a doe-eyed man who shares her bed, and a woman she longingly pines for. With a long list of past conquests both in fighting and in romance, Julie, sometimes, has a difficulty keeping the two separate. As her love life spins out of control, she begins to feel as if she is fighting the whole world at once. But if she can find someone who understands her, maybe she can finally have the love she has been searching for.
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THE ARIA OF JULIE D'AUBIGNY, the cross-dressing, sword-fighting, opera singer, wherein she seduces men and women alike, wins numerous duels, must be twice pardoned by the King, and eventually finds true love.

Recommended by

  • Dave Osmundsen:
    4 Feb. 2024
    Julie d’Aubigny’s life has become fodder for half-truths, exaggerations, and outright fabrications. Monica Cross acknowledges the myths and legends through five gadfly gossips who act as an incorrigible and unruly Greek Chorus, and then returns the narrative to the flawed, yet deeply principled human at its center. While lengthy, the play consistently intrigues and entertains, then wallops you with one of the most emotionally intimate, vulnerable, and moving love stories I have read in quite some time. A perfect play for colleges and universities.
  • Nora Louise Syran:
    8 Oct. 2022
    A "duelist [who has] never lost a duel. A lover ever attentive to [her] beloved [who has] hidden these features within the uncut gem of [her] wild and reckless behavior." A brilliant historical figure brought to life by Monica Cross in a fast-paced, action-filled, easy to stage historical romance. Well done!
  • Christopher Soucy:
    7 Oct. 2022
    D’Aubigny had always been one of my favorite historical figures! Monica Cross does a fantastic job of telling the incredible story of a most incredible human being.

Character Information

  • Julie D’AUBIGNY, Mademoiselle de Maupin
    19-37,
    Female
  • Louis-Joseph, Comte D’ALBERT de Luynes
    30-45,
    Male
  • Marie-Thérèse-Louise, Marquise de FLORENSAC
    late 30s to early 40s,
    Female
  • Gabriel-Vincent THEVENARD
    20-35,
    Male
  • Fanchon MOUREAU
    mid-30s,
    Female
  • DUKE of Orleans
    30-45,
    Male
  • Marthe ROCHOIS
    mid-30s,
    Female
  • Comte D'ARMAGNAC
    40s to 50s,
    Male
  • DUMESNIL
    40-55,
    Male
  • KING Louis XIV, the Sun King
    50s,
    Male
  • Opera IMPRESSARIO
  • Theatre INTENDANT
  • Young LADY at the ball
    20-25,
    Female
  • Gretchen, d’Albert’s MISTRESS
    25-35,
    Female
  • GENTLEMAN
    40s to 50s,
    Male
  • GOSSIP ONE
  • GOSSIP TWO
  • GOSSIP THREE
  • GOSSIP FOUR
  • GOSSIP FIVE

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Mary Baldwin University, Shakespeare and Performance program
    ,
    2023
  • Reading
    ,
    Whiskey Theatre Factory
    ,
    2022

Awards

Finalist
,
Wisconsin Wrights
,
Forward Theatre
,
2024
Semi-Finalist
,
Shakespeare's New Contemporaries
,
American Shakespeare Center
,
2021