Podcast Summary: "New Play 'Queens' About Hustle, Family & The American Dream"

Podcast: All Of It with Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Episode Date: November 28, 2025
Featured Guests:

• Martina Mayock (Playwright)
• Marin Ireland (Actor, plays Renia)
• Anna Chlumsky (Actor, plays Agata)
• Julia Lester (Actor, plays Ina)

Episode Overview

This episode delves into "Queens," a new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martina Mayock. Set in an illegal basement apartment in Queens, the play follows a diverse group of immigrant women from countries like Afghanistan, Belarus, Honduras, Poland, and Ukraine. These women, all in pursuit of their own piece of the American dream, each carry unique stories of sacrifice, longing, and resilience. The discussion explores the writing process, characters' development, themes of immigration, and the lived realities that inspired the work.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Inspiration & Writing Process

• Martina Mayock’s Personal Journey and Inspiration
  • Martina shares that "Queens" was born out of the Trump administration’s first travel ban and her own sacrifices as an immigrant artist.
  • She reflects on deep personal choices:

    "I realized after a few of my closest family members had passed away and I realized I couldn't even afford to go back for their funerals, that I, in choosing to stay in America and pursue a life as an artist, that I accidentally became American and I lost touch with that part of my family." — Martina Mayock [01:48]

  • The play is dedicated to immigrant single mothers and their "sacrifices and their fights."

Collaborating & Working with Martina

• Marin Ireland on Martina’s Writing

  • Marin, who previously starred in Mayock's "Ironbound," expresses gratitude for the depth and opportunity in Martina’s work:

    "She is funny and Fierce and a truth teller. And it feels like a full meal as an actor to sit down with her work." — Marin Ireland [02:53]

  • She describes the work as "not hyperbole," but truth to her experience as an actor.

• Julia Lester on Being Supported by a Seasoned Cast

  • Julia, newer to the stage, admires her cast:

    "We all hold each other very closely backstage so that the product on stage feels real and lived in. And every single person has really shown me the kind of person that I am trying to grow into..." — Julia Lester [03:55]

The Power and Artistry of Stage Acting

• Anna Chlumsky on Stage vs. Screen
  • Anna shares the enduring artistry of the stage:

    "A play is something that anybody can pick off a bookshelf for centuries... You feel like you're a part of shaping culture." — Anna Chlumsky [05:00]

  • She emphasizes the importance of being present and the nightly renewal of performance.

Structure & Focus of the Play

• Streamlining the Cast for Narrative Focus

  • The play’s first iteration had 11 women; it was condensed to eight for pacing and clarity.

    "I kept falling in love with all of these women... I think I sort of lost control of the spine of the story..." — Martina Mayock [06:24]

  • Some characters now exist as off-stage "ghosts," enriching the focal narrative.

• Why Only Women?

  • Martina wanted "higher stakes" and to honor the particular burdens immigrant women carry.

    "There's a lot of pressure for women to not just do the work with their bodies to make money to support themselves, but to also support their families and... uphold a culture..." — Martina Mayock [07:40]

  • The play honors the women Mayock grew up with.

Character Preparation and Language

• Research and Learning Polish

  • Marin Ireland and Anna Chlumsky learned Polish for authenticity, drawing on Mayock’s expertise for cultural nuance.

    "A big element of our research was learning Polish for the play." — Marin Ireland [09:01]

• Connection to Slavic Heritage

  • Anna, although not Polish, values playing a character with a similar Slavic background:

    "It's so much fun speaking in another language... Getting the chance to do a whole scene in Polish is just... a dream come true." — Anna Chlumsky [10:00]

Character Arcs and The Basement Apartment

• Ina’s Search for Her Mother, and the American Dream

  • Julia Lester discusses her character Ina’s motivations:

    "I think she's searching for answers of why did her mother go to America? ...What is this thing that her mother left her for?" — Julia Lester [11:20]

  • She conducted research, including viewing the documentary "Love Me" on mail-order brides, to prepare.

• The Symbolic Basement

  • Martina describes real-life analogs to the basement apartment and immigrant resourcefulness:

    "It was a bunch of... subdivided partitions, like makeshift rooms. And in one of the rooms, I discovered all these discarded objects... They felt like they contained all the stories of the people who... were trying to do when they first came here." — Martina Mayock [14:43]

  • The objects left behind become metaphors for what’s kept, abandoned, or hoped for by each character.

• Renia’s Journey in the Basement

  • Marin Ireland explains her character’s evolution:

    "Chronologically speaking, the basement is a refuge and a sanctuary. She's in desperate need... There's nobody there who speaks her language... She's starting at the bottom... and has to learn by getting thrown into the deep end..." — Marin Ireland [16:37]

  • Over time, Renia grows to "run" the basement, claiming authority.

Language as Bridge and Barrier

• Beauty of ‘Broken’ English and Multiculturalism

  • Martina is drawn to the poetry of accented and non-native English:

    "I'm fascinated by concepts that don't exist in other languages and how telling that is about what we value in what those cultures value because they have a word for it..." — Martina Mayock [20:41]

  • The play foregrounds the "beautiful music" of multiple dialects, reflecting Mayock’s own experience and vision of America.

• Personal Anecdote on Communication

  • Anna Chlumsky recounts a moment with Mayock's Polish godmother:

    "I was trying to say, 'We love Martina,' but... she said, 'Oh, I am in the sky.' ...And we got it. That's what's so great about understanding all the different ways that we communicate..." — Anna Chlumsky [22:06]

Political Resonance and Purpose

• Reflections on Immigration Today
  • Mayock addresses the relevance amid ongoing ICE raids in NYC:

    "I don't understand why this administration is coming after people who for the most part are just trying to embody the ideals of what the American experiment's supposed to be... I hope that this play contributes a deeper portrait of human beings..." — Martina Mayock [23:10]

  • She hopes the play "welcomes" people, making them "feel less alone."

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• "I accidentally became American and I lost touch with that part of my family."
  — Martina Mayock [01:48]

• "She is funny and Fierce and a truth teller. And it feels like a full meal as an actor to sit down with her work."
  — Marin Ireland [02:53]

• "The kind of thing that I want to look for in everything that I do is working with good people."
  — Julia Lester [04:22]

• "A play is something that anybody can pick off a bookshelf for centuries... You feel like you're a part of shaping culture."
  — Anna Chlumsky [05:00]

• "Some of the women, they're still a part of the story. We just don't see them...they live off stage."
  — Martina Mayock [06:32]

• "Because I like higher stakes...the amount of mental workload, labor that that goes through to just keep your life and the lives of your family afloat is rarely talked about."
  — Martina Mayock [07:40]

• "It was a bunch of...partitioned, makeshift rooms...I discovered all these discarded objects...They felt like they contained all the stories..."
  — Martina Mayock [14:43]

• "I think the basement...is a refuge and a sanctuary...she has to sort of learn by getting thrown into the deep end..."
  — Marin Ireland [16:37]

• "I'm fascinated by concepts that don't exist in other languages and how telling that is about what those cultures value..."
  — Martina Mayock [20:41]

• "She said ‘I am in the sky’...and we got it."
  — Anna Chlumsky [22:06]

• "I hope that this play contributes a deeper portrait of human beings that are very similar to the people that are in the audience...I think we're more alike than we are dissimilar."
  — Martina Mayock [23:10]

Key Timestamps

• [01:36] Martina Mayock on the personal and political inspiration for "Queens"
• [02:53] Marin Ireland on the depth of Mayock's scripts
• [04:22] Julia Lester on cast camaraderie and learning
• [05:00] Anna Chlumsky on the enduring power of stage acting
• [06:32] Changes from 2018 version to current production
• [07:40] Mayock on focusing exclusively on immigrant women's stories
• [14:43] Mayock’s real-life experiences with basement apartments and object metaphor
• [16:37] Marin Ireland on character development and survival in immigrant life
• [20:41] Mayock on the poetry and complexity of non-native English
• [22:06] Chlumsky on cross-linguistic connection
• [23:10] Mayock on the play’s contemporary political relevance

Tone & Intent

The conversation is heartfelt, candid, and deeply empathetic—replete with personal history and artistic reflection. The cast and creator’s mutual respect fuels a discussion that is at once intellectual and emotional, conscious of the play’s role in both reflecting and shaping narratives of immigrant women in America.

For those who haven't listened, this episode offers a compelling inside look at art-making rooted in lived experience and a nuanced conversation on the complexities of immigration, language, and womanhood in pursuit of the American Dream.