Nearly a decade ago, Martyna Majok began writing her play Queens. The work, as timely now as it was when she first began it, if not more so, centers on immigrant women from different countries who share a basement apartment in Queens. In very real ways, Queens, which takes place over 16 years, tells a story about what it means to be an immigrant in the United States.
“I was seeing a lot of my friends and their parents—immigrants—voting for Trump,” recalls the Pulitzer Prize–winning, Tony-nominated playwright. “And I thought, ‘I don’t understand.’ Why would you vote for someone who does not want you to thrive in this country? It felt so paradoxical to me.”
But Majok also felt a strong sense of empathy. “People feel like they got in—to a place of safety. But because of the level of scarcity they lived with all their lives, now that they are here, they feel they have to pull up the drawbridge. And I felt deep, deep compassion for that choice.” From that duality, Queens was born—to create, as Majok says, “a cumulative collection of an immigrant experience.”
When Queens premiered at Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater, it drew acclaim for its raw, unflinching humanity. Nearly ten years later, Majok has reimagined the play for Manhattan Theatre Club, once again directed by Trip Cullman. With themes of belonging, resilience, and sacrifice, the production brings together a dream cast of actors: Brooke Bloom, Anna Chlumsky, Sharlene Cruz, Marin Ireland, Julia Lester, Nadine Malouf, Andrea Syglowski, and Nicole Villamil.
Currently playing at New York City Center, Majok sees her reimagined play as a reflection of the times. Queens, she says, is “in conversation with how we landed at a second Trump presidency—what happens when you have been made to feel so small in your life and what you need to do to counteract that feeling and to achieve something remarkable.” Ultimately, she says, “It’s a story about anybody who has had to start a life over, anybody whose life has broken for them.”
That spirit of reinvention runs through the ensemble. Andrea Syglowski, who originated the role of Lidia and was in the first reading of the play when it was just 30 pages, describes Queens as a play that moves through time. “You really get to know these women and their stories of survival—what it took to come to America and what it’s taken to stay,” she says.
Revisiting her character years later, Syglowski sees more of Lidia’s desperation and her need to get out of Ukraine. “Now that we know what has happened in that time period, it adds a new layer of depth and asks for us to all have empathy for her,” she says. “In America, we all come from somewhere—unless you’re Indigenous. This country was built on the backs of immigrants and slaves, and it’s really important to have empathy for those who are different.”
For Marin Ireland, who has been with Queens since its earliest drafts and development readings, Majok’s work has redefined what representation can look like onstage.”Martyna writes about women and immigrants in a way that I’ve never seen anywhere else,” says Ireland. The women of Queens, “are funny and dirty and sexy and silly and strange and scary—it’s not just about people’s trauma,” she says. And as she points out, Queens has a continuing resonance. “It’s the story of this country,” says Ireland. “We think we are in a unique crisis now, but it’s always been a crisis for this group of people.”
Anna Chlumsky, new to the Manhattan Theatre Club production, found a personal connection in her character’s Eastern European roots. “This is the closest I have gotten to play my own ethnicity and own heritage,” says the actor who is of Czech and Croatian descent. “So I was excited to finally jump into a lot of the women I knew growing up.” And she is particularly moved by the play’s specificity. “Martyna tells these stories in such an individualistic and respectful way,” says Chlumsky. “Telling these stories are always important. It drives home the fact that everybody deserves dignity and respect in their journey.”
That sense of universality resonates deeply for Sharlene Cruz, who has such passion for Majok’s writing. “There is something about the way she writes dialogue. I think, ‘did you write this for my mouth? This is how I talk,’” says Cruz. “Her writing is so full of depth and heart with a keen ear for rhythm,” adds Syglowski. “And somehow she can make poetry into everyday language.”
Cruz also finds inspiration in her character’s resilience. “She is so strong and a fighter. But she has such a big heart,”says Cruz. “She has to believe that she is going to make it and change her life despite all the obstacles. It is inspiring to see her live that.”
For Nadine Malouf who was in the original production, the play has a personal resonance for her. “I am an immigrant, I am a daughter of immigrants, a granddaughter of immigrants and I come from a long line of immigrants,” says the Australian-born Malouf whose family hails from Lebanon.
When doing the play in 2018, Malouf’s grandmother passed away. “I feel so strongly about honoring mothers, grandmothers and the women who have made the sacrifices and choices who don’t have statues erected after them, but who are the reason we are here,” says Malouf. “This play feels like this is their time to be honored.”
Julia Lester, one of the newest members of the cast, was struck by the depth of the world Majok created. “This show has been in my life for a few months, but it feels like a story and world that has been part of me forever. And it’s has waiting for the right moment to emerge, in an artistic and personal way,” she says. “Every single woman in this show is nuanced and has a beautiful arc with much depth. The moment you think you know somebody, you really don’t.”
Also, being in the show has transformed how she views others. “Because of these women in the show and the topics we’re discussing I see the world and people differently,” says Lester. “And I think people will leave the show having a new perspective on life and people and what people sacrifice in order to in order to search for the life that they want.”
For Nicole Villamil, returning to the play, after all this time has inspired great reflection. As much as Isabela, the character she plays, is “in her bones,” Villamil is also keen to re-discover her. “I want to come to it as if for the first time.” And she continues to be in awe of all Majok has created. “Martyna has such an incredible way of writing unsentimental characters for sentimental audiences,” says Villamil. “She shatters you when you are watching the play. These women are so tough, but there is also a deep yearning—and that dichotomy is so beautiful to play.”
Brooke Bloom felt the story resonate with her own past. “I had a very formative person in my life who was from Moscow—my ballet teacher—who was like a surrogate mother to me,” says Bloom. “So in a way, it’s like me getting to channel her. The rhythms of these women, their humor, their defensiveness, their emotionality—it’s familiar to me.”
Bloom also finds the play’s questions to be so important and poignant. “What does it mean to be American?” she asks. “What do you leave behind, and who do you think you need to become in order to become American? It shines a light on that—and on our value system. It’s a hard look at how we are living and what we take for granted.”
For director Trip Cullman, reuniting with Majok was an immediate “yes,” especially because her characters are so three dimensional. “You would think that a play about eight immigrant women living in an illegal subdivided basement in Queens is going to be super traumatic and all about victimhood,” he says. “But what I find so surprising is that these are fearsome, badass, intimidating people in all the best ways. That is what is so amazing about Martyna’s writing—she writes to the power of the people she writes about, not simply the trauma of their circumstances.”
Revisiting Queens after nearly a decade has been emotional for Majok. It is a reunion with her characters, collaborators, and younger self. “Two days ago I walked into the room and projectile tears came out of my face,” she says. “I saw not only my dearest friends, but people who have helped the play come to be over an entire decade. I don’t think there is a more meaningful project in my life. This is what I wanted to figure out before I die.”
Majok hopes audiences recognize the universality of her characters’ experiences. “I want people to realize that we’re more alike than dissimilar,” she says. “This is a story about anybody who has had to start a life over, anybody whose life has been broken. We have all gone through COVID, or some sort of life break, and have to figure out a way forward.”
At the same time, she also hopes audiences can understand the deeper struggles behind those shared experiences. “You constantly have to prove your worth as an immigrant, especially if you’re undocumented. That filters through your psychology, the way you trust others, how you love, how you build a home when everything can be pulled out from under you,” she says. “I want people to understand that mentality.”