About the Show

Immigrant women confront past choices in a basement drama by Martyna Majok.

Set in an illegal basement apartment in Queens, New York, Queens explores the intersecting lives of multiple generations of immigrant women navigating sacrifice, survival, and belonging. When a young Ukrainian woman arrives in search of the mother who left her behind, the women's fragile peace is disrupted, forcing each of them to confront the decisions that shaped their futures. The play centers on themes of abandonment, resilience, and the human cost of chasing opportunity across borders.

The play is written by Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok (Cost of Living, Sanctuary City) and directed by Trip Cullman, whose past credits include Choir Boy and The Substance of Fire. The cast features Brooke Bloom, Anna Chlumsky, Sharlene Cruz, Marin Ireland, Julia Lester, Nadine Malouf, Andrea Syglowski, and Nicole Villamil.

This newly reimagined version of Queens was commissioned by The Hermitage Greenfield Prize (The Hermitage Artist Retreat) and co-commissioned by The Almeida Theatre (London) and Manhattan Theatre Club through the Edgerton Foundation New Play Commission program.

Critic Reviews (11)

"It's a testament to Majok, Cullman, and the cast that we long to know, to ever more deeply understand these women otherwise forced to hide away."
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"Queens, for better or worse, is an unending revolving door of characters, but Ireland’s performance bores through the crowd like a laser beam."
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"Queens is a difficult, tricky piece, worrisomely slow to get going, but Majok has a penetrating insight into her characters; for them, America is a casino, and they're betting against the house."
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"There is much food for thought here, but like that cramped apartment in Queens, the play is crowded with too many elements that get lost in the clutter. "
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"it continues to be confusing as it goes back and forth between scenes in 2017 and 2001"
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"These interludes are powerful, but so stylistically different from the rest of the play as to feel jarring."
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Its empathy for such people is palpable, but its muddled storytelling, indefinite characters, awkward language, and excessive length make it dramatically unappealing.
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‘Queens captures’ an essential quality of lives lived in the margins with performances that are simply astonishing.
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