Playwrights Horizons has announced the cast for its world premiere of Wish You Were Here written by Sanaz Toossi and directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch. Performances will begin April 13, with opening night set for May 2, and a run through May 22.
Its cast of all Iranian and Iranian-American women actors will feature Nikki Massoud (Othello) as Zari, Marjan Neshat (Selling Kabul) as Nazanin, Nazanin Nour (Madam Secretary) as Rana, Artemis Pebdani (Scandal) as Shideh/New Friend, and Roxanna Hope Radja (Torch Song) as Salme.
The play, which takes place across 13 years beginning in 1978, follows a group of best friends as they live through the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War. They each try to find a sense of normalcy until they can no longer avoid making decisions as they consider what it means to stay in Iran—or to leave it. Wish You Were Here has previously been presented as an audio play.
READ: Williamstown Theatre Festival Presents Wish You Were Here Audible World Premiere April 1
The creative team includes scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Sarah Laux, lighting design by Reza Behjat, sound design by Sinan Refik Zafar and Brian Hickey, production stage management by Vanessa Coakley, and assistant stage management by Jenn Jacobs.
Toossi made her Off-Broadway debut this month with English, a play which follows four adult students sitting the TOEFL exam in an Iranian classroom that was co-produced by Atlantic and Roundabout theatre companies.
For tickets and more information, visit PlaywrightsHorizons.org.
