Meet the Playwright Presents: Queens Girl in the World

It’s 1962 and the kids in her neighborhood dance to Motown, teach her about the birds and the bees, and try to make her “boss” like them. When Jackie’s parents put her in a predominantly white school in Greenwich Village, she discovers the world of Bar Mitzvahs, theatre and social activism. The tricky thing is taking the E-train back and forth between her two different worlds, and managing two very different Jackie’s living in her body. The solo actor plays 5 characters during this humorous and touching journey of identity and self-acceptance, set against the tumultuous backdrop of Civil Rights-era New York City.

About the Playwright:

Actor, director, playwright CALEEN SINNETTE JENNINGS is a proud graduate of P.S. 143 Queens. Dramatic Publishing Company has published eight of her plays, and her work has appeared in seven play anthologies. She has received play writing awards from the Kennedy Center and The Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. In April 2022, her play Queens Girl in the World had an off-Broadway run. She is currently writing the book for a new musical on the life of famous black contralto Marian Anderson and working on a commission from Arena Stage. Caleen is Professor Emerita of Theatre in the Department of Performing Arts at American University in Washington, D.C. where she taught multiple courses in theatre and directed for 31 years. Jennings has her B.A. in Drama from Bennington College, and her M.F.A. in Acting from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.