Otherworld Theatre to Stage Midwest Premiere of Charles Busch's QUEEN AMARANTHA, 6/6-28

Queen Amarantha will perform at City Lit Theatre from June 6th through June 28th. This play is directed by Otherworld Theatre's Artistic Director Tiffany Keane* and assistant directed by company member Bennett Bottero*.

The cast includes: Mary-Kate Arnold* (Thalia), Moira Begale (Amarantha), Grace Gimpel* (Edra), Dylan Schaefer (Roderigo), David Servillo (Earl of Moreland/Waldemar), Elliott Sowards* (Duke of Agar/Orvall), Brendan Stallings (Adrian), & Justin Verstraete (Champion)

The production and design team includes: Mary-Kate Arnold* (Dialect Coach), Rachel Geistfeld (Music Design), Elise Leonhardt (Costume Designer), Kai Young* (Violence Design), Vanessa Waliko (Costume Designer & Armorer).

Queen Amarantha, the daughter of a barbaric warrior king, tries to emerge from her father's shadow. Uncomfortable with her society's conventional female role, she frequently dresses as a man to freely wander her kingdom. When her enemies destroy her reputation through a manipulated scandal, Amarantha abdicates and runs away from her throne. She leaves the throne to her young and hopelessly weak ward, Roderigo, who becomes a pawn of Amarantha's enemies, particularly her treacherous childhood friend, the Countess Thalia. Now Amarantha must choose between her freedom or saving the kingdom from ruin.

Opening Night is Saturday, June 6th at 7:30 PM. The production runs Saturday June 6th- Sunday June 28th Thursday, Friday, & Saturdays at 7:30 PM Sundays at 4 PM at City Lit Theatre, located at 1020 W Bryn Mawr Chicago, IL 60660. Tickets are $20.00 and can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/826255.

Queen Amarantha was originally produced in 1997 by the WPA Theatre. This production was directed by the playwright, Charles Busch and Carl Andress. Charles Busch originally started in the title role of Amarantha.

Charles Busch is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and female impersonator. He wrote and starred in his own Off- off-Broadway plays beginning in 1978, generally in drag roles. Busch's play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which debuted on Broadway in October 2000, received a 2001 Tony nomination for Best Play and ran for 777 performances. Busch received the Charlie Local and National Comedy Award from the Association of Comedy Artists in 1985 for "special contributions to the art of comedy". He also received the Manhattan Academy of Cabaret Award in 1985 and 1993.

Since their founding in 2012, Otherworld Theatre Company's mission has been to create theatre dedicated to Science Fiction and Fantasy storytelling. Their first production, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 was a smash hit, reaching over 500 patrons in just one weekend. Of Dice and Men was their next successful hit, selling out the last two weekends of its run before traveling to perform at C2E2 and GenCon. In November 2014, The Aurora Project opened at the Right Brain Project which created an immersive theatrical experience in the form of a spaceship that surrounded the audience while they watched the play. From the moment the audience entered the space, they were greeted with visual delights such as projected starscapes and interactive holograms.

For more, go to www.OtherworldTheatre.org or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OtherworldTheatre, Twitter: @OtherworldThtre and YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCsmsppAgXfNCZm8ZjRaz0uQ.

*Denotes Otherworld Theatre Company Member