Photo Flash: First Look at QUEEN at Geva Theatre

Geva Theatre Center's 2019-2020 Fielding Studio Series begins with Queen, written by Madhuri Shekar and directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh. The production begins performances on November 6 and runs in the Fielding Stage through November 24.

Two PhD candidates, Sanam and Ariel, have spent the last seven years exhaustively researching vanishing bee populations across the globe. Just as these close friends are about to publish a career-defining paper, Sanam stumbles upon an error which could jeopardize everything. Both women must make an impossible choice - look the other way and save the bees, or tell the truth and face the consequences.

Queen premiered in 2017 at Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago and was nominated for a Joseph Jeff Award for Best New Play. In 2018 it was produced in Seattle (Pratidhwani with ACT) and the Bay Area (EnActe Theatre), and had its New York premiere in February 2019 at the Astoria Performing Arts Center. Queen placed 2nd in the Kennedy Center's 2017 Paul Stephen Lim playwriting contest, and is an Edgerton Grant awardee.

The cast of Queen all make their Geva Theatre Center debuts. Ezra Barnes (Off-Broadway productions of Breakfast with Mugabe, In White America, English Bride) is Dr. Philip Hayes; Nikhaar Kishnani (Off-Off- Broadway production of Veil'd and TV's Brown Nation, Code Switched, Geeta's Guide to Moving On and Nepotism) is Sanam Shah; Nik Sadhnani (Off-Broadway productions of India Pale Ale and The Trial of the American President and Hulu's The Path) is Arvind Patel; and Marina Shay (NYC productions of Miss Julie, Eurydice and A Glorious Vision, TV's The Good Fight) is Ariel Spiegel.

Queen is directed by Geva's Director of Engagement/Associate Artistic Director Pirronne Yousefzadeh (director of Geva productions of The Royale, Heartland and The Lake Effect). The creative team includes Reid Thompson (Scenic Design), Valérie Thérèse Bart (Costume Design), Reza Behjat (Lighting Designer), Kate Marvin (Sound Design), J.C. Meyer Crosby (Intimacy Director), and Jenni Werner (Dramaturg).