I saw it last week. It was 3 hours with 2 intermissions. (It honestly felt like a 90 minute play) queens, Is God Is and People, Places & Things are my favorite plays I've seen this season.
They're all challenging, smart plays that demand a lot of their audience. You have to be alert. You have to keep multiple plots, characters and themes in your head, but they're all incredibly rewarding.
If you like plays, queens is going to blow your mind.
The talent of the actresses is staggering. The script, the design. I wouldn't be shocked if this won the Pulitzer. It really feels monumental. Like Top Girls, Angels or Intimate Apparel. It discusses incredibly topical, political subject matter in human and funny ways. People couldn't stop laughing the night I saw it. People also cried. It's that kind of play.
My friends and a did not care much for it last night... I think the concept and structure are really interesting, but I found the execution to be a mess. Way too drawn out at about 2:55. And the way that a few of the actresses were in and out of their dialects was distracting, especially given how integral their specific backgrounds were to the plot - I was almost shocked to discover there actually was a dialect coach.
My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this. I went in with low expectations but was really impressed. I was invested in all the characters and the evening went by quickly. True, the accents could be distracting, but it did not impede on what I took away from the piece.
Great exploration on why we make the choices we make. Most memorable line (paraphrased):