QUEEN OF BASEL By Hilary Bettis At TheaterWorks Hartford, February 3-26

TheaterWorks Hartford, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero, presents the New England Premiere of QUEEN OF BASEL by Hilary Bettis.

Directed by Cristina Angeles, Queen of Basel is a bold adaptation of Strindberg's Miss Julie set within the Latinx community during Miami's Art Basel. Featuring an all Latinx cast and creative team, Queen of Basel runs February 3-26, 2023 at TheaterWorks Hartford's historic home, located at 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT. It will stream on demand February 19-26. Tickets are now on sale at twhartford.org.

It's Miami's Art Basel, where real estate heiress Julie reigns over the blowout her mogul father is throwing at his South Beach hotel. But after tangling with him and a tray of drinks, Julie plots her next move in the hotel's storage kitchen with Christine, a waitress who recently fled violence in Venezuela, and Christine's fiancé John, an Uber driver with ambitions. This explosive elixir of power, class, and race within the Latinx community examines the timelessness of love and betrayal in this bold new play.

Director Cristina Angeles remarked, "Queen of Basel is a fast paced, language and character driven play about class and colorism within the latinx community. I couldn't be more excited to make my TheaterWorks Hartford debut with a play showcasing such vivid, flawed, and imperfect characters with a dynamic, female protagonist at its core. Latinx stories are rarely seen on stage, and I hope this is just the beginning of a much longer conversation surrounding our varied, lived experiences, and the art that is created as a result."

Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero commented, "Queen of Basel is a play that has excited me since I first read it a couple of years ago. When planning the 2022-2023 season, I felt it was essential to include a story that speaks to our Latin community. What I find compelling, however, is not the political or social issues at its core, but, as always, I love the relationships, and this particular dance of power, passion, seduction, temptation, and impulse that can easily become destructive or self-destructive. It's human, it's raw, it's completely compelling - and it's in that engagement that we are also provoked into important conversations about privilege, race, power, and color."

The cast for Queen of Basel includes Silvia Dionicio as Christine, Kelvin Grullon as John, and Christine Spang as Julie.

The creative team includes Rodrigo Escalante (Set Design), Harry Nadal (Costume Design), Emma Deane (Lighting Design), Germán Martínez (Sound Design), Lauren Kiele DeLeon (Intimacy Director | she/her), Iris Marcelina Zacarías (Assoc. Sound Design), Cynthia Santos DeCure (Dialect Coach), and Victor Vazquez, CSA (Casting Director),

Performances of Queen of Basel will take place February 3-26, 2023 at TheaterWorks Hartford's beloved home, located at 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT. Critics are welcome starting Thursday, February 9 for an opening on Friday, February 10. The performance schedule is Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2:30pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm with no 2:30pm performance on October 15. In-person tickets are priced at $25-$65. All tickets can be purchased online at twhartford.org or by calling 860.527.7838.

Queen of Basel contains strong language and adult content. It is not recommended for persons under the age of 18. The running time is 80 minutes with no intermission.

TheaterWorks Hartford no longer requires proof of vaccination. The theater's full Covid Policy can be found here.

Please visit twhartford.org for more information.

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