ANDY WARHOL IN IRAN Comes to the City Theatre Next Month

City Theatre has annouced the final show of its 2023/2024 season, Andy Warhol in Iran by Brent Askari.

In 1976, celebrity artist Andy Warhol – and Pittsburgh favorite son – traveled to Iran to take Polaroid pictures of the Shah's wife. This imagined experience of an encounter with a young Iranian radical is a fiery, thought-provoking drama about art, revolution, and discovering a world beyond yourself.

“As a Persian-American, when I learned that Andy Warhol had traveled to Iran in 1976, I knew that I wanted to write about his visit,” said playwright Brent Askari.  “I've been fascinated by Warhol for a long time, and the idea of him being in the Middle East -- even if briefly -- wouldn't leave my consciousness. I was especially intrigued that his trip had occurred just years before the Iranian Revolution -- an event that I find myself returning to again and again as a dramatist.”

The cast includes Jeffrey Emerson and Arian Rad. The creative team includes scenic design by Michael Raiford, costume design by Susan Tsu, lighting design by Paul Whitaker, sound design by Zachary Beattie-Brown, dramaturgy and cultural consultation by Mehrnaz Tiv, and projection design by Mike Tutaj. Patti Kelly will serve as the production stage manager.

“Andy Warhol in Iran offers a wonderful opportunity to bring to life a three-dimensional portrait of Pittsburgh's iconic artist in a fictional setting,” said director Marc Masterson. “Brent Askari's play is insightful, dramatic, and surprisingly contemporary. This collision of art, politics, and idealism finds both humanity and humor in the story that unfolds.”

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