Victory Gardens Theater Hosts Special Earth Day Celebration Surrounding the World Premiere of QUEEN

Victory Gardens Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, announces a one-night-only Earth Day event surrounding its World Premiere production of Queen, written by Madhuri Shekar and directed by Joanie Schultz. The pre-show celebration is open to the public and will be held on Saturday, April 22, at 6:30 pm at the Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.

Every day should be Earth Day! How can we make daily changes to care for our planet? Join Victory Gardens for an evening of interactive events surrounding Queen, an ethical drama about two women's exploration of the vanishing bee population. The pre-show celebration will include food and interactive presentations from Chicago-based environmental organizations as follows:

• Nature's Little Recyclers is a green tech recycling plant that diverts organic waste from the landfill to high-quality soil. Ed Hubbard, the CEO and founder of Nature's Little Recyclers, will teach audience members how they can convert their own homes' food waste in their very own backyards with the help of red worms.

• The Recyclery is an educational bike shop whose mission is to promote sustainability through upcycling and collaborative building. Join, Recyclery volunteer Tzippora Rhodes for an interactive presentation about the environmental impact of upcycling parts and commuting via bike.

• Lincoln Central Association will present info about its beautiful community garden in Fire Station Park just a few blocks from the theater and how easy it is to get involved in your local community garden.

• Zero Waste Chicago, an environmental organization that offers resources and education to increase awareness of alternatives to the traditional waste stream, will provide interactive workshops on reducing waste.

Following the Earth Day event, guests may also attend that evening's performance of Queen at 7:30pm. Each ticket, priced $15 - $60, includes a gift bag with seeds to help start a bee-friendly garden and other fun favors. To purchase tickets or for more information visit victorygardens.org or call 773.871.3000.

In the World Premiere production of Queen, PhD candidates Sanam and Ariel have spent the better part of the last decade exhaustively researching vanishing bee populations across the globe. Just as these close friends are about to publish a career-defining paper, Sanam stumbles upon a miscalculation. What appears to be a small error could cause catastrophic damage to their reputations, careers, and friendship. Now, Sanam is confronted with an impossible choice: look the other way or stand by her principles and accept the consequences.

The cast of Queen includes Priya Mohanty (Sanam Shah), Darci Nalepa (Ariel Spiegel), Adam Poss (Arvind Patel) and Stephen Spencer (Dr. Philip Hayes). The creative team includes Chelsea Warren (scenic design), Janice Pytel (costume design), Heather Gilbert (lighting design) and Thomas Dixon (sound design). Lynne Harris is the production stage manager. Queen by Madhuri Shekar and directed by Joanie Schultz (Cocked, The Whale) returns to Victory Gardens Theater after enthralling audiences at the 2015 IGNITION Festival of New Plays.

The World Premiere production of Queen runs April 14 - May 14, 2017 at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. The performance schedule is as follows: Tuesdays - Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 3:00pm and 7:30pm, and Sundays at 3:00pm. Tickets, priced $15 - $60, are available at the Box Office, by calling 773.871.3000 or online at www.victorygardens.org.

About Victory Gardens Theater

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, Victory Gardens is dedicated to artistic excellence while creating a vital, contemporary American Theater that is accessible and relevant to all people through productions of challenging new plays and musicals. Victory Gardens Theater is committed to the development, production and support of new plays that has been the mission of the theater since its founding, set forth by Dennis Za?ek, Marcelle McVay, and the original founders of Victory Gardens Theater.

Victory Gardens Theater is a leader in developing and producing new theater work and cultivating an inclusive Chicago theater community. Victory Gardens' core strengths are nurturing and producing dynamic and inspiring new plays, reflecting the diversity of our city's and nation's culture through engaging diverse communities, and in partnership with Chicago Public Schools, bringing art and culture to our city's active student population.

Since its founding in 1974, the company has produced more world premieres than any other Chicago theater, a commitment recognized nationally when Victory Gardens received the 2001 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, Victory Gardens Biograph Theater includes the Za?ek-McVay Theater, a state-of-the-art 259-seat mainstage and the 109-seat studio theater on the second floor, named the Richard Christiansen Theater.

Victory Gardens Ensemble Playwrights include Luis Alfaro, Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Ike Holter, Samuel D. Hunter, Naomi Iizuka, Tanya Saracho and Laura Schellhardt. Each playwright has a seven-year residency at Victory Gardens Theater.

The Playwrights Ensemble Alumni includes Claudia Allen, Lonnie Carter, Steve Carter, Gloria Bond Clunie, Dean Corrin, Nilo Cruz, Joel Drake Johnson, John Logan, Nicholas Patricca, Douglas Post, James Sherman, Charles Smith, Jeffrey Sweet and Kristine Thatcher.

For more information about Victory Gardens, visit www.victorygardens.org. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/victorygardens, Twitter @VictoryGardens and Instagram at instagram.com/victorygardenstheater/

Victory Gardens Theater receives major funding from The Wallace Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Shubert Foundation, The REAM Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Allstate Insurance, Polk Bros. Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The William and Orli Staley Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by: Abbot Downing & Wells Fargo, Alliance Bernstein, The Charles H. and Bertha L. Boothroyd Foundation, Exelon, The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, John R. Halligan Charitable Fund, Illinois Arts Council, Illinois Tool Works, Italian Village Restaurants, Mayer Brown LLP, The McVay Foundation, LLP, The Prince Charitable Trusts, The Saints, Charles & M.R. Shapiro Foundation, Southwest Airlines, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Whole Foods Market, and Wrightwood Neighbors Conservation Association.

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