Queens Theatre Premieres Three-Episode Miniseries GIFTED By Topher Payne

Queens Theatre presents Gifted: A socially distant holiday comedy in three episodes written and directed by Topher Payne (Hallmark Channel's A Gift To Remember) New episodes will be released Thursdays, December 3, 10 & 17 on Queens Theatre's YouTube and Facebook channels. A special Holiday Watch Party featuring a screening of all three episodes and a live cast and company reunion will take place on Zoom on Monday, December 21.

Produced by Queens Theatre's Dominic D'Andrea & Jay Rogers, and edited by Jef Holbrook, the principal cast features: Oscar Cabrera, Michael Fredric, Andrea Chaves, Zabryna Guevara, Nicole Aiken, & Queens Theatre Alum Carey Cox, who was last seen on QT's Claire Shulman Theatre in 2019's Barefoot in the Park as Corrie.

"While we were sheltering-in place this spring, we started turning our attention towards the holiday season", says Queens Theatre's director of community engagement, Dominic D'Andrea. "We engaged Topher, who has an incredible body of work as a playwright and with The Hallmark Channel making these beloved holiday movies, and thought: wouldn't it be fun to try to bottle some of that lightning for our Queens Theatre audience, see what we can make on Zoom platform? We tapped some of our favorite Queens Theatre and NY actors, and built this project around them. The result has been really magical, and we can't wait to share it with our audience. We all need a bit of holiday joy this season-maybe now more than ever before!"

In Gifted, Matteo and Becca are spending their first Christmas together... in quarantine. Trying to make the best of a most unusual holiday, they reach out to each other's families in hopes of preserving a few traditions. It doesn't take long before the people they're talking to start talking to each other, and things get a little complicated. This world-premiere comedy proves that when it comes to your loved ones at the holidays, some things will never change- no matter the distance between you.

Episode Synopsis:

EPISODE ONE: There's a Story There (Released Thursday December 3rd, 2020)

Quarantined in their apartment for the holidays, Matteo and Becca each go on a search for the perfect Christmas gift... which proves more challenging than expected.

EPISODE TWO: The Missing Ingredient (Released Thursday December 10th, 2020)

Becca's search for Matteo's gift leads to her mediating a fight between exes, while Matteo's project creates a new friendship.

EPISODE THREE: The Elusive Sparkly Yam (Released Thursday December 107h, 2020)

Matteo's thoughts turn to romance, unexpectedly inspiring others to do the same. With only days left until Christmas, Becca encounters a major obstacle.

Special Event on Monday, Dec 21st: A screening of all 3 episodes and a Zoom party with the Cast & Crew discussing the work and a little holiday fun & games magic.

Individual episodes will be released on YouTube (youtube.com/QueensTheatreNYC) and Facebook (facebook.com/QueensTheatreNYC) each Thursday at 7:00pm. RSVP for the Holiday Watch Party at www.queenstheatre.org.

Topher Payne is a playwright and screenwriter based in Atlanta, who has written more than twenty works for the stage. He was a Lambda Literary Award nominee for Perfect Arrangement, which was also awarded the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award by the American Theatre Critics Association. Perfect Arrangement had its Off-Broadway premiere in 2015, produced by Primary Stages. He has written five films for The Hallmark Channel, including the popular A Gift to Remember and its sequel. Topher was the 2018 inductee into the Georgia Theatre Hall of Fame. He is a proud member of the Dramatist's Guild of America, and the Writer's Guilds of both America and Canada.

Queens Theatre is the premier performing arts venue in Queens. Queens Theatre's mission is to provide quality and diverse performing arts activities that are economically and geographically accessible to the 2.2 million residents of Queens, the most ethnically diverse county in the nation, and the surrounding metropolitan region. To foster greater cultural awareness and appreciation, the Theatre presents and produces programs that reflect this diversity and features international, national and local artists.

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