Trinity to present 'By the Queen'

“This project has been a dream of mine for a long time,” Trinity Rep Artistic Director Curt Columbus said in a statement. “Queen Margaret is one of the most fascinating characters Shakespeare ever wrote [about], and I have been looking for a contemporary take on her story, one that puts her squarely in the center, for a number of years.

"Whitney White is one of the most exciting artists in the American Theater today, and someone who has been part of the Trinity family, so being able to present her take on Margaret’s story is even more wonderful. I cannot wait to share this show with our audiences.”

From her roots as a provincial princess of France to her ascension to the throne of England and her eventual downfall, Queen Margaret, a warrior, a wife, a politician, and a mother, is a complicated, interesting, and thrilling Shakespearean character. White's new drama is lifted and remixed from the text of Henry VI and Richard III, and, according to Columbus, "finally gives Margaret's story the telling it deserves."

Notably, the role of Margaret will be portrayed by three performers of different ages, each representing a stage of Margaret's life. The three Margarets exist in a liminal space and interact with each other as they look back on their life as a whole.

Brown/Trinity Rep MFA acting candidate Fiona Marie Maguire will play an idealistic yet defiant young Margaret, resident company member Rachel Christopher will portray a slightly older, more cynical Margaret, and guest artist Paula Plum will make her Trinity Rep debut as the eldest Margaret. Joining them will be an ensemble of five who will play the various men who have impacted Margaret’s life. The actors include resident company members Taavon Gamble and Mauro Hantman, Brown/Trinity Rep MFA acting candidate JaQuan Malik Jones, and guest performers Jeff Church and Matthew Russell.

For the first time since 2013’s "The Grapes of Wrath," Trinity Rep will offer onstage, cabaret-style seating by set designer Michael McGarty. 

The project is part of Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

White, an Obie Award and Lilly Award-winning director, actor and musician based in Brooklyn, is the current recipient of the Susan Stroman Directing award, an artistic associate at the Roundabout, and a part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Her original musical, "Definition," was part of the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab 2016 ANT Fest, and her five-part musical exploration of Shakespeare’s women and ambition, "Reach for It," is currently under commission with the American Repertory Theater in Boston.

She has developed work with The New York Times, Ars Nova, The Drama League, Roundabout, New York Theatre Workshop, 59E59, The Lark, The Movement, Jack, Bard College, NYU Tisch, Juilliard, Princeton, SUNY Purchase, South Oxford, Luna Stage and more. A believer in collaborative processes and new forms, White's musical discipline is rooted in indie-soul and rock.

She is also "passionate about Black stories, reconstructing classics, stories for and about women, genre-defying multimedia work, and film," according to a release from Trinity. Past fellowships include New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship, Ars Nova’s Makers Lab, Colt Coeur and the Drama League. She has an MFA in acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep, a BA in political science, and a certificate in musical theatre from Northwestern University.

"By the Queen" will be directed by Brian McEleney, who has been a resident company member for more than 30 seasons. He has directed more than 20 productions including "Hamlet," "An Iliad," "The Grapes of Wrath," "House and Garden," "Absurd Person Singular" and "Twelfth Night."

As an actor, his favorite Trinity Rep roles include King Lear, Richard II, Richard III, Malvolio, George (in "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"), Dr. Larch ("The Cider House Rules"), Prior Walter ("Angels in America"), and his first Trinity Rep appearance as Mozart in "Amadeus." He is a graduate of Trinity College and the Yale School of Drama and founding director of the Brown/Trinity MFA acting program.

Noting that White is a former student of his, McEleney said, “It’s a professional honor for me to get to work with her, because she's one of the hottest theater artists working today. I'm thrilled that she entrusted me with this project.”

McEleney will work alongside assistant director Kai Thomani Tshikosi, set designer Michael McGarty, costume designer Toni Spadafora-Sadler, lighting designer Christina Watanabe, and sound designer Larry D. Fowler Jr.

Continuing Trinity Rep’s tradition of offering affordable tickets for all, the theater will hold a Pay What You Will performance of "By the Queen" on Thursday, Jan. 12. Pay What You Will tickets go on sale at 2 p.m. the day of the performance and are limited to one per person. Other special performances for this production include open-captioned performances on Feb. 8, 11 and 12 at 2 p.m. and Feb. 8, 9, 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. The sensory-friendly performance of "By the Queen" designed to meet the needs of guests with sensitivities to light and sound will be held on Feb. 1.