A laudatory hallmark of South Coast Repertory programming this century has been the Costa Mesa theater’s deep delves inside the diverse communities that have burgeoned in Orange County.
The West Coast premiere of “Wish You Were Here,” which opened this past weekend on the Julianne Argyros stage, continues this exploration. It’s an impressionistic and heartfelt inspection of the ties between, and challenges facing, five young women living in Iran from 1978 to1991.
The play was written by Sanaz Toossi. Raised in Irvine and having taken acting classes at SCR’s Conservatory — she appeared twice in the holiday perennial “A Christmas Carol”; her mother has ushered at the venue — Toossi is a theatrical storyteller currently experiencing quite the moment.
Her second play, “English,” saw a well-reviewed 2022 off-Broadway production in New York and subsequently won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opens on Broadway this week.
“Wish You Were Here,” described by the author as a dramatic comedy, consists of 10 chronological scenes set in various livings rooms in a midsize Iranian city.
A backdrop looming over the female quintet is the fall of the nation’s secular Persian monarchy and its replacement by the fundamentalist Islamic Republic.
Skulking behind the Middle Eastern women’s daily lives and preoccupations is cultural upheaval as well as the impact from two regional wars in the period. Tumults in Iran assault the women’s relationships as a world-wide — and sizable California-heading — diaspora begins.
(The repercussions of this were audibly evident during Friday night’s opening performance. An early line, “This will all blow over in a year,” generated an audible, woeful murmur from the multigenerational full house.)
If this makes “Wish You Were Here” sound solely like some wistful elegy to a lost world, that is less than the half of it. In a recent interview, Toossi said, “I’m not a public intellectual. … I am, at my core, someone who loves a cheap laugh.”
There is constant, joyous badinage among the friends. A couple of the characters repeatedly traffic in increasingly bitter sarcasm and irony. And prepare as well for plenty of unashamedly and unabashedly graphic language frequently referencing the genitalia of both genders.
SCR has fashioned a handsome production for the 90-minute play. There are nice directorial touches from Mina Morita, new to SCR.
That said, the show itself is overall a bit of a mixed bag. Interestingly, a couple of the challenges Morita faces — and maybe can’t solve — stem from the writing itself.
Structurally, “Wish You Were Here” has numerous built-in blackouts for set and costume changes. Despite some background recorded Iranian music, energies noticeably sagged in the dark Friday, time ticking by, an audience waiting for action to resume.
And while emotional nuances in Soosi’s writing are dexterously revealed, the play could profit from a bit more literal-ness about what backdrop events in Iran in the moment are impacting her character’s lives.
The acting is also revealed as the evening progresses as not quite to par throughout the ensemble.
Morita gives us a rollicking start. This is the five friends at their youngest, anticipating a wedding later in the day, raucously chatting away over each other. Personalities as well as group dynamics emerge in the hubub.
But as subsequent scenes shrink into threesomes and then pairings, acting skills of unequal strength are revealed.
Two performances in particular stand out in good ways.
Awni Abdi-Bahri plays Nazanin, who slowly emerges as the play’s centerpiece, despite her tough hide and overt ambivalence. This character, seemingly hard-boiled, gets boiled down by outward events as well as her own emotional frustrations. Abdi-Bahri is revelatory at registering this toll.
Another actor with less stage time but indelible impact is Artemis Pebdani. As Shideh, Pebdani industriously channels some of Toossi’s trademark humor-is-where-you-can-find-it opportunities with sardonic lilt and a hard-edged practicality.
The very appealing physical production is extremely well decorated. Take note of the three large, designed carpets made specially for this staging.
At the back of the stage is a lovely lit, framed area with three dressmaking mannequins, where the actresses effect some 30 costume changes.
Including one from SCR, Toossi has a number of commissions for future plays pending. This is definitely a promise of good things to come since hers is a distinctive voice we are eager to hear from again.
‘Wish You Were Here’
Rating: 3 stars (out of a possible 4)
Where: Julianne Argyros stage, South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
When: Through Feb. 2; 7:45 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. An additional performance has been added at 7 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 2.
Tickets: $35-$114
Information: 714-708-5555; scr.org
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