A modern LatinX twist on a dark romantic classic
August Strindberg’s “Miss Julie,” a classic of early Naturalistic theater written in 1888, is set in the kitchen of a count’s mansion on a wild Feast Day in Sweden. “Queen of Basel” by young New York-based playwright Hillary Bettis is a modern variation of Strindberg’s dark, suspenseful and abusive love triangle, written for an all LatinX cast and set in the present day during the international Art Basel fair in Miami.
Like Strindberg’s play, Bettis’ intense 80-minute drama — which makes its New England premiere at TheaterWorks Hartford on Feb. 3-26 — concerns a wealthy young woman named Julie who gets in heated discussions about race, class and sexual power with a couple of workers in a kitchen. Some of the changes are natural: Jean, a chauffeur, is now John an Uber driver. Strindberg’s Julie is a count’s daughter while Bettis’ Julie is a real estate heiress.
But there are big differences. Strindberg’s setting is an old-world Swedish mansion; Bettis’ is a fancy hotel in Miami. But the biggest change is that while “Miss Julie” simmers with the threat of sexual violence and psychological torment, “Queen of Basel” has a feminist perspective and introduces themes of immigration, gender roles, charity and social power in ways that Strindberg didn’t consider. In a review of the play’s world premiere at Miami New Drama on the website “Theatrical Musings,” critic Aaron Krause asks “Is it possible to write and stage an August Strindberg play adaptation that’s #MeToo friendly?” and declares that the answer is yes.
Bettis’s script is bilingual, with dialogue in both English and Spanish. A different bilingual feminist drama about that deals with class issues, “Espejos: Clean” by Christine Quintana, is currently playing at Hartford Stage through Feb. 5, so both of Hartford’s major regional theaters are simultaneously staging modern Spanish/ English works by Latina playwrights.
For TheaterWorks, this is its first modern LatinX-themed play since “Fade” in 2017. The motto for TheaterWorks’ current season is “These are our stories,” and the programming has a multicultural slant.
“Queen of Basel” is directed by young New York-based Latina director Cristina Angeles, who says that it was Bettis herself who recommended that Angeles helm the show in Hartford after TheaterWorks first expressed interest in doing the play. For this production, Angeles has assembled an all-LatinX design team of set designer Rodrigo Escalante, costume designer Harry Nadal, lighting designer Emma Deane and sound designer Germán Martínez.
“Queen of Basel” covers some very dark territory, but Angeles says the play can also be very funny.
“Hillary does a great job of interweaving humor with the drama. There are issues of colorism in the LatinX community, class and race, but at the same time it can be really funny,” she says.
Angeles was in Connecticut just last month as the assistant director for the national tour of the Broadway revival of the Black military drama “A Soldier’s Play,” which was having its pre-tour technical rehearsals at the Shubert in New Haven. That and “Queen of Basel” are Angeles’ first Connecticut theater experiences. She hails from Northern New Jersey and is currently based in New York. In April, she’ll be directing Anne Carson’s translation of Sophocles’ “Antigone” at Pace University in New York.
She’s clearly comfortable with classics, adaptations and new translations, but Angeles says her specialty as a director is “primarily new works.” Right after she finishes work on “Queen of Basel,” she’ll be doing a series of readings and workshops on new plays in New York. When asked if there’s a dream play she’d like to direct, she suggests that it probably hasn’t been written yet.
“Queen of Basel” by Hillary Bettis, directed by Cristina Angeles, runs Feb. 3-26 at TheaterWorks Hartford,
233 Pearl St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. $25-$60. twhartford.org.