English Reviews
English
Los Angeles Times- Highly Recommended
"...The effect heightens the romanticism of characters who are no longer lost to us in translation. But the destination of the play is less about what these students sound like to an American audience than what they sound like to themselves. And that is a universal journey that transcends even the starkest barriers of language, culture and politics."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...You don't have to have made a lifetime career out of teaching English to speakers of other languages as I have to be blown away by the Broadway production of Sanaz Toossi's extraordinary Pulitzer Prize-winning play English, now paying a must-see visit to The Wallis in Beverly Hills."
Stage Raw- Recommended
"...In Toossi’s play English now on stage at the Wallis in Beverly Hills with the Broadway cast flown in, four students in 1990s Iran – future med student Elham (Tala Ashe), wide-eyed teen Goli (Ava Lalezarzadeh), elegant grandma Roya (Pooya Mohseni ), and mysterious dude Omid (Babak Tafti) – gather for teacher Marjan’s (Marjan Neshat) in-person class. Goli gives a presentation in halting, accented English – then abruptly continues in English with the mannerisms and casual Californian accent of a teen at the Glendale Galleria, her shoulders dropping about a foot."
Larchmont Buzz- Recommended
"...It’s an understatement to say that Iran is “in the news” these days. It’s that newsworthiness that makes this week’s opening of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play English at the Wallis remarkably timely, but also reinforces it as a period piece."
Broadway World- Highly Recommended
"...There are words – adjectives – which will do the job of characterizing Sanaz Toosi’s play ENGLISH, and the production at the Wallis through April 26. Words like “wondrous,” “unforgettable” “affecting,” “insightful,” “quietly profound,” and on and on. Where compliments are considered, the English language is lousy with synonyms and this much-heralded Pulitzer Prize-winner is deserving of every last one of them. "