Why should Marinites make the effort to attend a performance of Torange Yeghiazarian’s Leili & Majnun, now running at Central Stage in Richmond through Nov. 23?
One, the Richmond Bridge is cheaper and less tourist-filled than the Golden Gate. Two, there’s a parking lot with ample parking. Yep, no paying more for parking than for dinner or circling the block in ever-widening circles, until out of sheer frustration, one convinces themself that they will fit in a space that would make a Smart Car sweat. Third, and most importantly, the play is very good.
If one missed the staged reading of this play at Marin Shakes during their Seeds of Time Festival, Leili & Majnun tells legendary Persian poet Nizami’s version of the star-crossed lovers’ tale that may well have inspired Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Leili (Yasaman Asgari) falls in love with Majnun (Roeen Nooran) at school. However, they love each other too much, so Leili’s mother (Sofia Ahmad) pulls Leili out of school, refusing to allow Leili to marry Majnun, despite his father (Behzad Golemohammadi) offering riches. Along the way to the inevitable end, there are festivals, battles, poetry and songs.
Original music composed by Sirvan Manhoobi (except for the “Love Letters Duet,” composed by Adrienne Shamszad) beautifully advances the story. Music direction and performance by Sara Saberi are necessarily excellent given that there are only two musicians, and they are right on the small stage with the actors.
Production design by Mokhtar Paki is simple yet multi-purpose, allowing the actors to play with the set without detracting from the story.
The seven actors play off of each other like old friends. All of them give solid performances, but it is Dina Zarif who shines throughout. Despite most of her lines being in Persian, her clarity, energy and strength allow the audience to feel included in the story even before the English translations are given.
While Nooran and Asgari give strong performances throughout, their “Love Letters Duet” is simply breathtaking. It is rare to find artists who can sing and act with the same skill; both Nooran and Asgari are part of that small circle.
In fact, the biggest disappointment of this show is that these actors are not known names in Marin. Yeghiazarian has pulled together a multi-talented cast to tell a story that transcends language while still being strongly rooted in a culture too rarely showcased on Bay Area stages.
In reality, the beauty of this show alone is reason enough to cross the bay.‘Leili and Majnun’ runs through Nov. 23 at Central Stage, 5221 Central Ave., Richmond. Wed–Sat, 8pm; Sun, 3pm. $30. 510.610.9146. centralstage.org.
