Isfahan Blues (play)

ISFAHAN BLUES is included in New Iranian Plays, Aurora Metro Publications, 2022. An Iranian Film Star. An American Jazz Musician. The Rest Is History. Written by Torange Yeghiazarian in collaboration with Vida Ghahremani, L. Peter Callender, Nakissa Etemad, Laura Hope, and Marcus Shelby. Premiered by Golden Thread Productions & African American Shakespeare Company in 2015, directed by Laura Hope.

Inspired by Duke Ellington Orchestra’s 1963 tour to Iran, ISFAHAN BLUES imagines an unlikely friendship between an American jazz musician and an Iranian actress. As they travel together to Isfahan, “the most beautiful city in the world,” Jazz inspires them to test the limits of freedom, creativity, and experimentation. Contrary to today’s political stalemate between the US and Iran, this production aims to shed light on a little-known historical moment when a uniquely American art form inspired generations of young Iranian musicians.