Mosaic Theater Company’s production of Andy Warhol in Iran is a masterful, creative blend of humor and reflection. Brent Askari’s play imagines a possible event during the pop artist’s 1976 visit to Iran to take Polaroids of the Empress for paintings, an event that, as Andy puts it, “might have happened.” Directed by Serge Seiden, the play intimately reveals the connections between two seemingly different people.

Alex Mills evokes Andy Warhol with all his quirks and obsessions. Shyly noticing the audience while standing out on a balcony, he drops down, hoping to evade them. He initially speaks to the audience by imagining a phone conversation with them, as that is how he is most comfortable speaking to people. He finds politics “abstract” and expensive, ever since his unflattering portrait of Richard Nixon led the IRS to audit him yearly. Meanwhile, he hopes his portraits of royals will pay off well, as they would likely be purchased in multiple copies for palaces and government buildings.

Nathan Mohebbi brings a determination to Farhad, a young Iranian who confronts Andy in his hotel room. He decries Andy’s work of soup cans and painting dictators when he could paint “anything in the world.” He imagines Andy’s visit to the White House, where he met the Empress, to have been “decadent,” which Andy realizes he means in a bad way.

Mills and Mohebbi work brilliantly together, with a lovely back-and-forth as Andy, revealing his ignorance of Iranian history, tries to convince Farhad not to follow through on his plans to kidnap Warhol as a protest action against the Shah. When Mohebbi describes the tortures the Iranian government inflicts on protestors, Mills yells in sympathetic pain. Andy is flattered when Farhad does not realize he wears a wig. They share their backgrounds, Farhad reluctantly, with his education in the States, and his wish to have lived a different life, one of money and fame, than his reality. Andy talks about his poverty-stricken childhood, his father’s early death, and how fame saved his life when he was shot. At one point, Mills ends up on his knees, pleading with Mohebbi, fear in his voice.

Scenic Designer Andrew Cohen creates a nice hotel room, with a big bed upstage center and night tables on either side. Behind the bed is a balcony with a sliding glass door and a backdrop of mountains. Off-stage audience right is an old rotary phone and boxes of Brillo pads, with similar boxes on the other side. Properties Designer Deb Thomas places period-piece items throughout the stage, including a Pan Am flight bag and a Polaroid camera. Across the top of the stage are small screens showing various photos. Two large screens roll onstage at times on which Projections Designer Mona Kasra throws videos of Warhol’s friends and key events in Iran’s history.

Costume Designer Jeannette Christensen and Wig and Make-Up Designer Larry Peterson capture Warhol’s look, with white wigs, sunglasses, blue jeans, and loose tie. Farhad wears a bellhop’s uniform at first before shedding it for a loose shirt. Lighting Designer Alberto Segarra spotlights Andy and Farhad for their individual monologues, raising and lowering the lights as the emotions change. Sound Designer David Lamont Wilson throws out sounds of knocking on doors and a gunshot.

Director Serge Seiden keeps the tension high throughout the whole play, so that even though we know Warhol’s ultimate fate, at times we wonder if he will make it through this encounter. The actors hit all the right comic and emotional moments. No knowledge of Warhol and Iran is necessary; indeed, the play feels at times like an entertaining biography and history lesson, though there is some repetition between Andy’s addresses to the audience and his conversation with Farhad. Even those who are not fans of Warhol will enjoy this look at a celebrity artist gradually showing his insecurities and humanity. Andy Warhol in Iran is a profound yet humorous exploration of art, business, politics, and connection.

Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

Andy Warhol in Iran plays through July 7, 2025, presented by Mosaic Theater Company performing in the Sprenger Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE, Washington, DC. Tickets are $42-$78 and available by contacting the box office at (202) 399-7993 or [email protected] from 12 pm–6 pm Tuesday through Sunday, or one hour prior to a performance. Tickets may also be purchased online.

The digital program is downloadable here.

Senior discount of 10% when using the discount code SENIOR. Student tickets $20 with discount code STUDENT. Educator: $20 with discount code EDUCATOR. Limited number of rush tickets are available via walk-up one hour before the start of each performance. Military and First Responder rate: 10% with discount code HERO. Under 30: $25 with code UNDER30 (not available on weekend matinees).

Andy Warhol in Iran
By Brent Askari
Directed by Serge Seiden
Andrew Cohen (Scenic Designer), Alberta Segarra (Lighting Designer), Jeannette Christensen (Costume Designer), Larry Peterson (Wig and Make-Up Designer), David Lamont Wilson (Sound Designer), Deb Thomas (Properties Designer), and Mona Kasra (Projections Designer)

SEE ALSO:
Mosaic Theater Company to present DC premiere of ‘Andy Warhol in Iran’ (news story, April 22, 2025)