The troupe, which populates its productions with women of diverse ethnic backgrounds, is known for delivering rousing presentations of classic works. Queen's Company artistic director Rebecca Patterson directs the limited engagement that will run through Nov. 23.

"Fifty percent of the actors in equity are female and they get only forty percent of the roles and the numbers are even lower for actors of color. I think it's our responsibility as a New York theater company to reflect our city's diversity. I want to see a stage that looks like a New York City subway stop," Patterson said in a statement.

Twelfth Night, which already involves a gender-bending plot point, will feature Dionne Audain, Virginia Baeta, Karen Berthel, Aysan Celik, Amy Driesler, Meredith Forlenza, Natalie Lebert, Gisele Richardson, Indika Senanayake, Carey Urban and Kari Washington.

The design team includes Jeanette Aultz Look (costume design), Raquel Davis (lighting design), Kip Marsh (set design), Amanda McCroskery (fight director) and Jane Shaw (sound design).

Tickets for Twelfth Night, priced $18, are available by phoning (212) 868-4444 or by visiting Smarttix.com Urban Stages is located at 259 West 30th Street in Manhattan.