![\"(L-R)](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UKP_2664-e1776106896241.jpg\")
<\/a>(L-R) Ava Lalezarzadeh, Babak Tafti, Marjan Neshat, and Pooya Mohseni. Photo by Kevin Parry, as is the one above.<\/p><\/div>\n
So I was happy to discover that the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated play, English,<\/em> now playing at the Wallis, is sharing that same sentiment in this high-quality show direct from Broadway. It stars four-fifths of that original cast\u2014Ava Lalezaradeh, Pooya Mohseni, and Tony-nominated actresses Tala Ashe and Marjan Nashat\u2014along with new guy Babak Tafti.<\/p>\n To be completely honest, despite me having been a teacher, and my parents being English and Speech teachers, (so language has always been a big part of my being,) I was hesitant to see anything that might be serious these days. As most people I know are, I\u2019m upset enough by what is happening in Iran right now, in real<\/em> life, that I didn\u2019t know if my mind could handle a fictional tale set in that country. However, because English<\/em> is playing at the Wallis, my favorite theatre, (which has never disappointed me,) I knew that I shouldn\u2019t miss it. And neither should you. (And I was glad to see a longer-running show from them, which they used to do quite often, as opposed to their recent mainly one-to-three night events.)<\/p>\n On the surface, English<\/em> is a character study of the lives of five semi-strangers, with lots of humor. Digging deeper, it\u2019s really a very thought-provoking piece on how language affects people\u2019s lives, which is a universal experience. And it\u2019s perhaps more relevant now than when it began in New York a few years ago due to the lunatic in the White House who is threatening Iran that their \u201cwhole civilization will die!\u201d<\/p>\n As hard as this will be for me to do, I\u2019m going to try to review the excellent play and performances I witnessed on Opening Night of English<\/em>, and leave politics out of it. After I cool down for a moment. (And, in a separate column this Friday, I will be featuring some personal reflections that the scenario brought up for me, including a more in-depth look at that first night with Philippe that I referenced at the top of this review, and my own experience in a \u201cSpanish only\u201d class. Not fun. For anyone! You\u2019ve never heard Spanish, French, and Latin till you hear them spoken with a Brooklyn accent! Shockingly, a play that takes place in Iran reminded me of more events in my own little very American life than any other entertainment ever has!)<\/p>\n Tala Ashe and Marjan Neshat. Photo by Kevin Parry.<\/p><\/div>\n The hour-and-forty-four minute (with no intermission) play is set in a classroom in Iran in 2008, and features the teacher and four disparate adult students who are studying for a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL.) Each character\u2019s reason for being there is different and equally interesting, as are the actors who play them. My favorite, (and perhaps everyone\u2019s<\/em> because she\u2019s the funniest,) is Tala as Elham, the girl who hopes to move to Australia and become a doctor. The character would be my bestie in real life.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve known Iranian people since I was a teenager, and never thought that their accents made them lesser. Actually, it was quite the opposite\u2014I thought the first guy I knew at URI was a Prince because of the lovely way he spoke! So it\u2019s hard for me to really<\/em> feel what these people in the play would be going through almost twenty years ago. But the script and actors sell the situations.<\/p>\n The playwright, Sanaz Toossi, implements a very clever device to help the audience along the way. During class, the students are supposed to speak English only, (it\u2019s even declared in big letters on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom, so that the audience knows it, as well,) but as in all foreign language classes everywhere, the learners can\u2019t help but to revert back to their own tongue every now and then. So, to let us non-Farsi speakers in on the distinction, when the characters speak English<\/em>, they have thick Iranian accents, and when they are speaking Farsi<\/em>, they actors speak in un<\/em>accented English. It took me a second to realize what was happening\u2014I thought that Ava, the young actress, had just gotten nervous because it was the opening, and forgot to use her accent for the play!\u00a0 But after that first minute, it worked beautifully.<\/p>\n Ava Lalezarzadeh, using Ricky Martin for Show & Tell. Photo by Kevin Parry.<\/p><\/div>\n As good as the presentation is, I have to admit that there are three issues I did not understand. Firstly, I don\u2019t get why at least two of the students indicate that they need<\/em> to pass that test. If reasons were given along the way, I missed them. I believe that in the U.S., English as a Second Language, (ESL,) classes are just for the students\u2019 own reasons, and are not required for anything official. (I\u2019ve been asked to teach those classes myself, but I\u2019ve always been afraid that I talk too fast for anyone to follow. Even native<\/em> English speakers have trouble with my speed on occasion.)<\/p>\n The second one, (which my friend Marc absolutely cannot let go,) is that one of the students doesn\u2019t show up again about halfway through, and none of us know why. We were really hoping that it would be explained by the end, but it does not. And I hate having it left up to our own interpretations, especially since Marc calls me with a new theory every few hours!<\/p>\n Lastly, in the final scene, Elham is in the classroom alone, drawing on the board, when Marjan, the teacher, comes in, and tells Elham that her classroom is across the hall, and says her own<\/em> new one is comprised of young students. And then Elham admits she did<\/em> pass the test, with flying colors, so why is she still there, when her plan was to go to Australia to study medicine? And even if she decided to stay put in Iran, what is she still doing in the school and why a new class? We thought that perhaps she was teaching it, but wouldn\u2019t Marjan have known that she was doing so? I\u2019m so confused.<\/p>\n But none of that takes away from the excellence of the play, which is interesting throughout. Even though English<\/em> does get a tad lengthy for just one act, I never checked the time. So I suggest you just go with the flow and enjoy it.<\/p>\n This is the front of the cube that’s in the middle of the dark stage before the show begins. Then it turns to reveal the classroom. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Marsha Ginsberg\u2019s set is basically a giant cube in the middle of the stage; it\u2019s just one classroom, with the outside visible in a couple of scenes in front of it. To make it more interesting, the whole thing moves a bit from scene to scene, so every section of the audience gets a different angle each time. I liked that usage, except for one giant column on one of the corners which obstructs some audience members\u2019 views of the actor speaking on occasion. If that post is necessary to hold up the set, okay, but otherwise I think that future productions should lose it.<\/p>\n However, also on the technical side, the interstitial music is perfect. It really adds to it, as does the sporadic background music.<\/p>\n And I love that Ricky Martin\u2019s song, She Bangs<\/em>, even makes an appearance! So does a bit of the popular film Notting Hill<\/em>. You\u2019ll just have to see for yourselves how it all fits into English<\/em>, which I strongly suggest that you do in these last two weeks of its limited run at the Wallis. I hope it gives all of us a better understanding of the power of language. (And please look at the back of the promo flyer on offer at the theatre\u2014one side is written all in Farsi, which boggled my mind when I noticed how gorgeous that writing is!)<\/p>\n English<\/em>\u00a0running through April 26, 2026<\/strong> ENGLISH AT THE WALLIS Many years ago, I was a big fan of the very outgoing French Olympics-medalist figure skater, Philippe Candeloro. So when I met him through a mutual friend, and we club-hopped all night, I was surprised that he was so quiet. And then, at 2AM, he asked if we could stop into<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Wallis Annenberg Theater For The Performing Arts<\/strong>
\n 9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard Beverly Hills<\/strong>
\n310-746-4000\u00a0www.thewallis.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"